7. WOODROW WILSON: A BIOGRAPHY~ CHAPTER 12 AND CHAPTER 13 (237 - 284) ~ MAY 6th - MAY 12th, No Spoilers, Please

[Bryan]

Vince wrote: "I have to agree with Bryan That Polk's Mexican War makes it hard to see us as principle friends to the Mexicans - and as today it seems that our goals are mostly self serving. and that history ma..."

You do get a sense he didn't think it was a big deal and had to be reminded that seeing this movie was a mistake. I don 't know if he came to that conclusion alone. He might.

[Tomerobber]

Well, I tried to sit still long enough to watch BIRTH OF A NATION again and gave up after the first 25 min. I can understand that sitting through 3+ hrs. would be tedious . . . I think one viewing of this in a lifetime would be more than enough!!

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

My take is that he was not spending 3 hours on this - in fact he probably barely took notice while his attention was elsewhere.

[Jim]

Bentley wrote: "My take is that he was not spending 3 hours on this - in fact he probably barely took notice while his attention was elsewhere."

Do we forget that a MOVIE was a new experience at that time. I wonder If Wilson was more interested in the event than the message.

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

I do not think he was paying attention - but what you are saying is very true Jim.

[Bryan]

One witness said he was doing work

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Goodness I go into starbucks for five minutes and I have the phone and the ipad going and I am getting my coffee - not really paying full attention to any one of them! I can believe that because for good or bad - I just cannot see him as being a frivolous man and just sitting around.

[Bryan]

Absolute, Bentley, and he was in the dark, literally and figuratively!

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

For sure.

[Katy]

Bentley wrote: "My take is that he was not spending 3 hours on this - in fact he probably barely took notice while his attention was elsewhere."

I agree he probably didn't think much about the movie; however, that is part of the issue here. Wilson didn't think about the racial injustices -- I don't think they were on his register. He might not have thought that he had racist tendencies, but I think he did and many people thought so also.

[Katy]

I was impressed by Wilson's letters to Edith as they begin their courtship. Very sweet.

[Bryan]

Kathy wrote: "Bentley wrote: "My take is that he was not spending 3 hours on this - in fact he probably barely took notice while his attention was elsewhere."

I agree he probably didn't think much about the mov..."

So true, Kathy, he didn't put them on his radar. If blacks were rioting in every major city like LBJ faced, then maybe Wilson would spend more time on this issue--politically necessary. He really didn't see them as a priority. Then you have all the rest of the stuff going on that caused distraction.

[Bryan]

Kathy wrote: "I was impressed by Wilson's letters to Edith as they begin their courtship. Very sweet."

I agree, Kathy, he really fell for her fast. Pretty amazing story actually. It doesn't happen often in the White House.

[G]

On page 276 of the trade paper edition. In part of Wilson's 4 point new world order, the third point was that the manufacture of munitions must no longer remain in private hands. I know there was no gun lobby then, but did he experience any American push back on that point?

[Bryan]

G wrote: "On page 276 of the trade paper edition. In part of Wilson's 4 point new world order, the third point was that the manufacture of munitions must no longer remain in private hands. I know there was n..."

Actually, G, I think in chapter 19, Cooper goes into this more, so let's come back to this topic. I didn't know about this detail myself. Interesting.

[G]

I'll catch up eventually!

[Bryan]

I know you will :-).