Before I Began

Before I began working on Abandoned Allies, I knew very little about the Vietnam War and almost nothing about the Montagnard people.  When I first started talking to our cast members, I questioned where they got their news.  How were they hearing about what's happening in Vietnam and I knew nothing about it?

The same question came to me recently, "Where do you find this news?"

When I found a lot of great articles online today, I realized the only reason I found them is because I'm actively looking for them.  We live in a sound-bite world where we digest news in a decreasing amount of minutes--if at all--on a daily basis.  If the first few paragraphs aren't interesting, we move on.  If the broadcast news doesn't entertain, we turn the channel.  We take less and less time to do our own research to find out what's really happening, so if it isn't served to us in an easily-digestible manner then we don't hear it.

There's no one to blame for this, really.  It's not just a "sign of the times" either.  It's just, simply, the way things are today.  I know because it's how I behaved before I began this project.

Now that I know people in Vietnam (and other places around the world) are being persecuted--raped, jailed, or murdered--for being an American ally nearly 40 years ago, I have started actively seeking more information.  You know why?  Because I'm angry about it.  I am embarrassed that our media puts more weight on an apology from Tiger Woods than it does on people being hunted in the jungles of Vietnam.  I'm upset that my generation can tell you all about Hollywood celebrities and nothing about foreign policy.  And yet, I am desperately trying to tell this story as objectively as possible so audience members can make up their own minds.

There's no doubt that this project has changed me.  It's altered my entire existence.  Before I began, I thought politics were something best left to politicians.  Now I realize that is what they want you to do.  By being ignorant of what's happening, we leave the fate of our nation, future and destiny in the hands of people that may not have our best interest in mind.  And that's putting it lightly.  It's a widely acceptable hasty generalization that politicians are crooked and corrupt, so why would we leave politics to them?

Before I began, I was clueless about a lot of these things.  I am saddened by the fact that this film may do nothing to make a difference, but it's not going to stop me from trying.  I've seen the power of film and social media in action.  I know what a group of people--even a small group of people--can do to make positive change happen.  And I believe, without a crack in my faith, that big things can happen when seemingly little people make the decision to stand up for what's right.

Without a doubt, this film has changed my thoughts on a lot of things.  Before I began I was a much different person.  Not better or worse, perhaps but definitely different.  I dream that this film will find its way into people's hearts, the hearts of people that can make a difference, and that my country will indeed keep the promise it made so many years ago: we will help you find freedom from oppression.