The question is posed in voice-over
as the camera pans from within the
waterways and canopy of a tropical
forest, at the 32nd minute of Ter-
hence Malick's film on the battle
for Guadalcanal, The Thin Red Line.
One year ago today, the University
town down the road was attacked for
the purpose of denying this question,
as if whole sectors of this one plan-
et could be, and reasonably ought to
be reserved for only preferred forms
of our common life. This is the gov-
erning solecism of the President of
the United States, and the source of
his power. We have seen, here, how
unsustainable it is. We recall this
today, not against our will, but to
share a place among our many forms.
Terrence Malick
Director
Screenwriter
20th Century Fox, 1998©
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