Like many progressives, I've spent much of the election season unenthused about Senator Kerry. There were even times that I questioned supporting him at all – perhaps the boomerang effect from a second Bush term would catapult us further forward in the long term.  Or so I mused.  In the primaries, I championed Dennis Kucinich, who embodied ideals I had rarely seen in a politician.  Following the primaries, I grieved the deafness of the Democratic Party to his message, resigning myself to a long wait for the changes that I really wanted.  
 
Eventually, after the nomination was secured, I focused on efforts that would build the long-term progressive movement as well as undermine Bush and his cabal.  I could not feign enthusiasm by campaigning for Kerry but I was happy to work on discrediting Bush. This stance has been actively celebrated by Democrats this year with the motto of Anybody But Bush. However, there has been a problem in this logic, since Americans are, at root, an optimistic and forward-looking people.  To vote for negative reasons runs against the grain of our national character.  We need someone to celebrate.  We need someone we can champion.  We need someone who expresses our ideals. A hero is far more enduring, compelling, and motivating than a villain.
 
This week, much to my surprise, I am having a conversion experience to truly supporting Kerry. This is not because I agree with him on every point of policy.  Or because he fully shares my views on things like the Iraq war.  I certainly haven't been convinced by the Democratic Party's propaganda machine – there is plenty there that needs reform as well.  
 
I have been won over by the greatness I am beginning to see in Kerry's soul.
 
The first intimations for me came in the debate on Thursday, when Kerry revealed himself as a noble warrior: powerful, resolute, and clear-thinking, a stark contrast to the incoherent repetitiveness of Bush.  As Kerry spoke, I was inspired.  His performance was enough to motivate me to see the movie Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry.
 
This movie is extraordinary for one reason: it shines with the soul power of a man playing out a courageous role in history.  We witness a 27 year old veteran, speaking before a key Senate subcommittee with depth of insight, courage of conviction, and purposeful patriotism. He spoke the conscience of a nation. To reach that point, John endured bullets and the madness of an unjust war, a war he had gone to fight with the noblest of intentions.  He then endured the bullets of silence, neglect, and shame that hit the veterans upon return.  Instead of succumbing to drink or denial, he took on an almost unthinkably difficult task: to change the opinions of a nation and convince powerful forces in Washington that they had erred.  He risked his planned career in politics to take this stand.
 
It is a mark of greatness when, in moments of moral darkness, a man or woman chooses to risk future, friends, and social standing to do what is right.  Life often presents this dichotomy – we can choose the safer path, or we can choose the heroic path, which may cost us everything.  When John Kerry was faced with this choice as a man of 27, he chose the heroic path and the effect from that decision sends ripples of benefit forward to today.
 
Throughout the movie, John's quietly powerful presence emanates from videos, stills, and speeches.  The testimonials of those who knew him are filled with extraordinary respect.  He reveals himself as a natural leader.  In watching this chronicle, I began to see his aloofness in a different light.  I began to see it as watchfulness, patience, and moral clarity - a Lincolnesque seriousness that derives from a heartfelt sense of right and wrong. His is the demeanor of principled conviction rather than the charm of a snake-oil salesman.  
 
His steady, courageous hand was evident in the stories of those who served with him on the Swift Boats, a particularly maddening and dangerous duty.  Later, in his work with veterans, he built the movement to end the war without rancor, counseling patience and easing hot tempers, preventing violence at every step.  He won people over by demonstrating the moral high ground.   When he threw his own medals over the fence, a powerful act of protest with hundreds of his brothers, he quietly stated that he was opposed to no one.  
 
Vietnam was many things to America but perhaps more than anything it was the first great public mistake of a maturing nation.  For that war, we paid a heavy price.  John Kerry, at a young age, presciently saw that America needed to learn deep, important lessons from that mistake.  He knew, even then, that we had not fully learned the lesson we needed to learn.  Thus the war continues, the war of truth and justice and facing the shadow side of our power.  If we are lucky, it will continue with him as our President.
 
Even diehard Republicans would be challenged to watch this movie and not be impressed with the heroism of John Kerry as a young man.  The hot fires of Vietnam and its aftermath were the forge that created the steel of his character.  Out of it came a man committed to do the right thing.  Bush's life of privilege, protection, and frivolousness during the same era could not stand in starker contrast.  The mettle of these two men was revealed early.
 
If elected, Kerry may not get us out of the war in Iraq immediately.  It may take time.  But I believe that the experiences that were seared into him in Vietnam ensure that he understands the full price of every life and limb that is lost and that he will not take his duties as commander in chief lightly, much less be afraid to admit our mistakes.  Integrity and honesty can end the war far more quickly than Bush's braggadocio.
 
Going Upriver reveals a young man whose greatness is beginning to shine.  If we elect John Kerry President, I now believe that his character will likely produce a presidency that we can rank as one of the great ones.   If you have been ambivalent about Kerry, I urge you to see this movie and see what he is really made of beyond sound bites and political ads. This man was tested and he stood as an example of great courage.

Permanent link: http://www.stephendinan.com/2004/10/converting-to-kerry.html

Stephen Dinan stephen@radicalspirit.org is author of Radical Spirit (New World Library, 2002), and founder of TCN, Inc. Stephen directed and helped to create the Esalen Institute's Center for Theory & Research, a think tank for leading scholars, researchers, and teachers to explore human potential frontiers. Currently, he is a marketing consultant for a number of startups, political action groups, and non-profits and runs workshops through the Radical Spirit Community.  For a full archive of his articles, visit www.stephendinan.com