Happy Fathers Day to all the Hard-Working Dads!

June 16th, 2013

I will post a longer entry in the next week to wrap up all the exciting events at this year's Workers Unite Film Festival. It was an amazing ten days with over 46 new films screened from all over the country and all over the world about the lives and struggles of working people.

But today is a day to talk about Dads. Mine passed away far too young, but even in the short time he was here, he taught my brothers and I the power of having work you really loved. Of course he told us too about the work you had to do to help pay the rent, feed your family, meet all those monthly bills, but he hoped we might find something in our lives where we could work hard, yet see that work as part of a larger movement for something better. He was never specific about what that was, could have been writing for science magazines and talking about nuclear physics, as he did, or digging ditches, or producing crazy musicals, as his father did. He was just hopeful that as we grew into men, we might find a passion to follow into our future.

I am happy to say that though I've done my share of pay the rent jobs and make ends meet jobs, my passion has always been to fight for and tell the stories of working folks. I am thrilled I get to see so much dedication, passion and really hard work in the dozens and dozens of films we screen every season in order to find the best selection for the festival. I am honored to play even a small part in turning back the tide of the corporate mainstream media machine as it tries so hard everyday to crush any human spirit out of the culture with its endless parade of junky TV shows on Housewives of .... and films filled with violence and little else.

The films we screen at the Workers Unite Film Festival have a dedication to telling important stories and their creators are artists and writers who never expect to get rich or famous from their work. They just want to let all of you know, to let the world know, that working people count, that working people have guts and that we are all never, ever gonna give up the fight for our worker/labor rights. Not here in the USA, not in China, Japan, Korea, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, France, Italy - nowhere.

So if the one-percenters think they have us beat - they have another thing coming. Take a look at the films we screened this year, even just the prize-winners - you'll see that the power of the human spirit to fight for what is fair and just and right is unstoppable, brave beyond imagination and resourceful as all heck.

So Happy Fathers Day Dad, wherever you are - I hope you know that I did find something to work on that I not only love, but know is so true and so right, that it makes me want to work on it as many hours of the day as possible.

I wish the same for each and every one of you and rememebr that if your job is not what you'd really like to be doing? We can always use your help organizing workers just about anywhere in this fine and beautiful country.

Happy Fathers Day to all!