Becky and I watched the George Clooney-produced movie, “The Boys in the Boat,” this past weekend. We thought it was a good film, and apparently the book by the same title is even better.
“The Boys in the Boat” tells the story of the 1936 University of Washington eight-oared rowing crew that represented the United States at the Berlin Olympics and ended up winning the gold medal, defeating, among others, Hitler’s German crew. It is a feel-good story that is true. No plot spoilers because everything that happens is predictable. The good guys win.
The boys in the boat are good guys not just because they are American. They are good guys by virtue of, well, virtue. The eight rowers and their coxswain are all from Washington state, the sons of farmers, and fishers, and lumberjacks. Their hard work and loyalty to the team, their perseverance and indomitable spirit was not instilled by coaches or university professors. It is who they are and how they were raised. Mothers and fathers and small towns are to be thanked for who they are. On their way tp Olympic gold, the boys in the boat defeat the teams of rich boys from the Ivy League and German and Italian rowers drafted into the service of oppressive regimes. Virtue defeats money and power. Continue reading