Thanks! Did you dig the piece he mentioned -- inside the siege? Incredible stuff.
No novel or film has ever impressed on me the ability of an average Joe to transcend average Joeness like the nobility and courage I've seen (mostly in the Middle East) in the past few years. Old overweight guys in their loafers and white starched shirts taking to the streets to battle Egyptian security forces, Kurds standing up for the only chance they have at not being crushed by the tumult of the the times they live in and many more. The fact that they are no different from me in their hopes and aspirations, how lucky I am, how fearful I am for them, shit overwhelms me. Anyone that doesn't know the United States is an amoral demon is fooling themselves. It would have been easy to drop a cornucopia of food, ammo and medicine on these brave people but...