The Ugly American

Last week we saw a film that, although seldom viewed these days, was very prophetic and relevant for both the time in which it was made, and these times as well.

I'm talking about 1963's The Ugly American, starring Marlon Brando. Filmed in Thailand, the film is set in a fictional country in Southeast Asia that bears a startling resemblance to Vietnam. Brando plays Harrison MacWhite, the newly appointed US Ambassador to that country, who immediately finds himself walking a personal and profession tight rope between populist movement within his host country that opposes the local US-backed government and his Bosses back in Washington who consider any opposition to the Amrican agenda to be Communist inspired.

The film aptly predicts some of the mess that happened in Vietnam during the years immediately following, and still applies today to the mess that is US foreign policy. The best part of the film is the very end, in which Ambassador MacWhite delivers the following speech on television. If you change the references of "Cold War" to "War on Terror," they apply today.

WARNING: I'm describing the end of the movie. I'm leaving out some context that explains some the comments that refer to events in the film, but the political comments should still make sense:

NBC News reporter Tyler: A couple of hours ago Senator Brenner called you tenure here a total failure. Would you agree with that?

MacWhite: Yes it certainly was a partial failure Mr. Tyler. When I said that a misunderstanding killed Deong, I meant my own misunderstanding. Deong had a kind of passion that maybe all revolutionaries have. It’s a kind a feeling that’s easy for us to misinterpret. We forget the men who started our country had that same kind of passion that Deong had and that these other new leaders have. And unless we recognize their fight for independence to be part of our own, then we drive them to seek understanding in some other place.

Tyler: Are you saying that America is losing the Cold War because we’re pushing these countries into the hands of the Communists?

MacWhite: I’m not saying that. I’m saying we can’t hope to win the Cold War unless we remember what we’re for, as well as what we’re against. I’ve learned in a very personal way, Mr. Tyler, that I can’t preach the American heritage and expect to be believed if I act out of impatience, or sacrifice my principles for expediency. I’ve learned that the only time we’re hated is when we stop trying to be what we started out to be 200 years ago. I’m not blaming my country. I’m blaming the indifference that some of us show to its promises.

(Scene switches to a TV set in an American living room)

If the Cold War disappeared right now, the American people would still be in this fight against ignorance, hunger and disease, because it’s right. It’s right to be (Brando mumble). And if I had one appeal to make to every American, it would be that--

(A hand from off-screen appears and the TV set is turned off! The dark TV is shown with the ending notes of America the Beautiful.)

Well, the Cold War as it was known when the film was made has disappeared in the years since. The American people are still in this fight against ignorance, hunger and disease. And despite what we're told, the biggest dangers we face are not the makers of roadside bombs!