'The Fight': A Rekindling of Political Efficacy
“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.”-Margaret Mead
The Fight is a desperately needed testament to the influence that people have on the United States government. In today’s political climate it’s easy to believe that the government no longer values public opinion. The Fight did an amazing job following the personal lives of lawyers showing that they are human and just like us they have a capacity to create significant change.
The Fight is a film following four major issues and the ACLU lawyers who brought the cases to court. Touching on some controversial topics in today’s political climate, The Fight provides multiple perspectives on the issues, from the arguments being made in court to the direct impact that issues have on those not present in the courtroom. This film is important because it gives some long-past-due recognition to the people behind the headlines that sparked anger and provided a call to action across the country.
U.S Must Let Undocumented Teenager Get an Abortion, Appeals Court Says
-New York Times Headline, October 24th, 2017
The person responsible for that headline was ACLU lawyer Brigitte Amiri. The Fight is successful in providing different news clips to illustrate the controversy around the issue. During the case, the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, Scott Lloyd, vehemently fought against the 17-year-old’s attempts to receive reproductive healthcare. In the film, there were media clips of Scott Lloyd appearing on Christian media outlets being praised for his fight to save the life of the 17-year-old's unborn child. Later a video was shown presenting Brigitte Amiri asking Scott Lloyd his views on abortion, exposing the anti-abortion sentiment that has such a large impact on government affairs.
I am a peer educator with Teen Council, an organization under Planned Parenthood dedicated to providing high school students with information to go out into their community to educate their peers on reproductive health and their rights. As a peer educator with Planned Parenthood, an organization that so vehemently fights for people’s right to choose, it meant a lot to see the legality behind what allows people to make those decisions.
Trump’s Travel Ban Is Upheld by Supreme Court
-New York Times Headline, June 26th, 2018
The travel ban mentioned in the headline above was also referred to as the “Muslim ban.” ACLU lawyer Lee Gelernt fought for a very long time trying to keep the Muslim ban from being passed. In the opening scenes of The Fight, there are protests outside of airports, all against the Muslim ban that had recently been signed into effect by President Trump. There was a video of ACLU lawyers holding up cardboard signs, offering their services to anyone who had a family member in a country that had been included in the Muslim ban. Lawyers worked on the ground with their laptops. People in the airport were applauding and crying as people came back with open arms, relieved to be saved from the fate that was awaiting them in a country they no longer called home.
Lee Gelernt argued before the Supreme Court that the Muslim ban was illegal, and unfortunately, the court ruled in favor of the Trump Administration. While this was a disheartening loss, The Fight gave a look into the life of Lee Gelernt, showing his hectic schedule, lack of sleep, and loss of time with his family. It was all of these scenes that truly instilled a feeling of hope in the audience, knowing that no matter the case and no matter the loss, there are people fighting for justice.
Ban Was Lifted, But Transgender Recruits Still Can’t Join Up
-New York Times Headline, July 5th, 2018
The headline above is another example of a loss. ACLU lawyers Joshua Block and Chase Strangio fought against the ban that would prevent all people who are transgender from being in the military. The film included a transgender man who is a high-ranking officer in the United States military to talk about the direct impact the ban would have on him.
Something interesting about this case is that it gave us a look into the conflict that people face when trying to find who should be the one to tell a story. One of the lawyers in this case, Chase Strangio, is a transgender male, while Joshua Block is a cisgender male. It was decided that Joshua Block would argue the case in court, but not without a lot of contemplation. This scene did a great job addressing the conflict that people face when advocating issues where they are not directly influenced by it. As a white, cisgender female it is important to address this when I advocate for issues that do not impact me. This was a scene in the film that I think was relatable to many advocates when thinking about when their voices should be heard in the conversation.
Supreme Court Leaves Census Question on Citizenship in Doubt
-New York Times Headline, June 27th, 2019
The case on the citizenship question was fought by ACLU lawyer Daniel Ho. At the end of the film when it is revealed that Ho essentially won the case there is a sense of relief. The film builds up the suspense when watching him practice his speech multiple times and builds up his case, which is his first case argued in front of the Supreme Court. He was arguing that to add a question on the US census about citizenship was to incite fear in undocumented communities and have a less accurate statistic on their community.
After watching a film that makes an audience cry and actively tries to involve people to fight for these important issues, I have newfound hope. I have hope that it is with these art forms that a sense of political efficacy can be instilled in the public, and that is a very difficult task to achieve.
Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can ever do much to help it. While it lies there it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it.
-Judge Learned Hand
