Passion manifests itself in a person’s life in weird and unexpected ways. The key for me is to infuse passion at one point in your life and let it evolve into other areas to keep yourself growing and learning. Mad As Hell provides context for my journey. I’ve loved helping people since I led volunteer efforts to soup kitchens while I was in college. It was touching to see how joyous positive impacts are on a person in need of one, so I wanted to help out on a grander scale. After searching a great while, politics seemed like the best way to enact widespread change, but politics is such a rancid system that no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t find a movement I could fully get behind. Then I happenstanced upon a video of the Young Turks after watching What the Flick!? movie reviews, and the spark was ignited.
Fair warning: if you are not a progressive person, you will not like Mad as Hell or the Young Turks. They transparently believe in equal rights for equal people and fighting crony capitalism inherent in the political system of today. My passion came from an anger at how the system established refused to punish those who caused the financial crisis of 2008. I searched and searched for answers to why that was, coming across shows like the Daily Show or Colbert Report, which pointed to some of the answers I was looking for, but keeping themselves out of the fight. The Young Turks was something different. They came across like The Daily Show with less humor and more news coupled with open thought and fierce anger. The more I watched, the more I liked what I heard. Yes, I agreed with the views of the hosts, but I liked how honest they were about their reporting and personal opinions. Transparency to me became an easy identifier over what to listen to and what to avoid, especially since it seemed that secrecy was at the heart of the financial crisis. The Young Turks helped me evolve my desire for service into democratic political action. They are a fighting organization, trying to remove money’s influence on the political process, citing numerous examples of how removing the dollar’s power from the system will reposition the United States politicians to serve who they were mean to: the people who elected them. The Young Turks has formed an organization called Wolf PAC to attempt to pass an amendment to create free and fair elections in the US. Their motto is “We’re coming for you.” That attacking mentality instead of waiting to be systematically hit again lit a fire deep within me, pushing me fully into this fight.
Mad As Hell showcases on the origins of this fight, focusing on the guy at the center of the battle. Cenk Uygur is the main anchor on the Young Turks and a dynamic, charismatic activist. The documentary shows early on how the power of their ideals was the driving force in all of The Young Turks and Cenk’s decisions, turning down very lucrative offers to quiet controversial but open and honest political speech. In addition, Mad As Hell, shows how hard it is to quiet a great idea in the age of information; the Internet is a new medium for which The Young Turks was an early pioneer, attracting and injecting life into a younger generation frustrated with the status quo. The movie confirmed what I already learned about these people; they deeply care more about ideals and morality than money, they will not be told to be quiet, and they will find creative, new, and transparent ways to make sure their message is received.
I cannot be objective about Mad As Hell. Any deficiencies in the story are masked by the powerful contribution to my life Cenk and The Young Turks have gifted to me. The understanding I have received about the world I live in gives me knowledge and power, and the channeled anger to change a corrupt system provides a worthy cause to devote my time and resources to. Please watch Mad As Hell, so you can feel alive, united and strong in a world than can sometimes minimize and isolate you for its own interests.
Keep coming for ’em, guys.