I chose to watch Ghandi in search of a role model. We've heard around here of James Bond, Rhett Butler and Clint Eastwood (we're short on women, right?). I wanted someone who's attitude and strength would inspire me. Ghandi is likely the most well-known human in history, given that he had such an impact in Asia where a majority of the world population lives, but also changed British Empire on which the sun never sets.
Gandhi was a man of tremendous internal strength, marching to his own drum, who never took the easy road to achieve impossible goals. He is a supreme example of the Stockdale paradox: in the face of adversity and terrible odds, he never wavered and took relevant action to achieve his goals. His stubbornness is out of this world, often throwing off his adversaries and allies alike. He displays such self confidence and moral clarity, along with clarity of thought and speech, that people around him are compelled to listen and be convinced. It might be the script, but Gandhi appears as a man of few, precise words, projecting confidence and leaving the audience with much to think about.
But the most DB aspect of his life is his setting of boundaries. Along with nonviolence, it seems to be at the center of his teachings. He simply states that certain things are unacceptable to him and his peers and that they won't abide by it. When the British impose a rule to force Indians in South Africa to be fingerprinted, he refuses to fight back, he simply states that no Indian should accept to be fingerprinted. He won by stating his boundaries and staying calm in the face of provocation, going to great lengths to keep his allies in line.
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"You can't start a fire sitting around, crying over a broken heart" - Bruce Springsteen.
