Chez Robert Giron

What I liked about the film Little Miss Sunshine is that ordinary Americans with their usual problems are portrayed not as cartoons but as real people with real hopes and aspirations yet life and circumstances get in their way.

The film co-directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and written by Michael Arndt takes that leap of faith that we Americans need at the moment. With Hurricane Ernesto approaching Florida and the rest of us in Post-Katrina/Rita mode, we need to see folks who might not have a chance but who believe they might just make it if they stay focused long enough.

Greg Kinnear who plays the father does a super job of making us feel for him; he wants so much to keep his family together, even if he has a very strange family, including his father, played by Alan Arkin. The mother, played by Toni Collette, who seems the most normal has the patience of an angel while still nurturing her children, played by Paul Dano and, of course, Abigail Breslin, Olive or Litte Miss Sunshine herself.

Though this is not a stellar film, it is one that will remain with the viewer because just as this family is trying its best to "make it" we are now viewing pictures of the destruction of Katrina/Rita and thinking: Why are these people still in such dire straits? Where was the government--the Office of Homeland Security--when dying people on the streets needed the attention of our government and our president.

No matter how many mea culpas Bush and gang state nothing will rub out the negative image he and his administration allowed to unfold. Some said and still say that because New Orleans was mostly Black that the administration simply didn't care: Hey, they didn't vote Republican. If Ernesto destroys Republican areas of Florida, will Bush and gang take care of their own who happen to be mostly White?

Could there be a double standard in this country? one based on one's skin color or how rich one happens to be?

Bottom line: Americans need to feel we are connected again regardless of whether one is Republican or Democrat.

Some of my own relatives and friends voted Republican but that doesn't mean I stop talking to them or don't care about them. Granted to keep the peace, we don't talk politics.

Politics in this country needs to return to being "American." We should not be followers of the Republicans or Democrats; we should be simply Americans wanting what is best for all Americans.

What is best for the USA and not what is best for political gain must be placed first! just like the family in Little Miss Sunshine came together to support Olive in her attempt to win the Little Miss Sunshine title, even if it was an up-hill struggle.