So I went over to a friend’s house the other evening for a “Movie Night,” and the movie that he had picked to watch was Evita.  I had never taken the time to sit down and watch the film in its entirety, and I’m glad that I finally did. While the musical quality isn’t excellent, there are some good numbers, and more importantly it tells a great story, one that, as the Fourth of July approaches, I think would be important to reflect on.

I was watching Glen Beck the other day (please, don’t ask why I was wasting my time…I can’t really explain why) and he said something to the effect of, “Oh, you’re not wealthy, well guess what, I’m a recovering alcoholic…we all have our lot in life.”  The audacity of Mr. Beck comparing poverty with his own disease aside, it shows a fundamental misunderstanding and lack of appreciation for the dignity and existence of all human life.  Now, I don’t think that every person should be entitled to a three-story house and a Mercedes.  But the story of the descamisados in Argentina is one of extreme poverty, where workers went without the basic essentials like regular meals and running water.  Eva Peron worked through her charity to provide social services to the poorest of her country, and even more importantly she helped lend support to a bill that in 1947 gave women in Argentina the right to vote.

Was Eva Peron perfect?  Of course not.  She and her husband made questionable political decisions in the course of his first assumption to power, but in the days of Mark Sanford and Dick Cheney and William Jefferson and the other countless number of politicians you can think of that have been accused of behavior that is not beyone reproach, this Fourth of July I think the most patriotic thing I can do is think of actors outside of our country that have made an impact for the betterment of their common good, and consider how we might reach for a similar goal.

-Sean Spivey