For almost 100 years, the American Civil Liberties Union has been one of the main entities defending free speech in the United States. But you might not know who founded it. While Helen Keller's role in the foundation was notable, the main person was Roger Nash Baldwin. The Academy Award-nominated documentary "Traveling Hopefully" focuses on him. Baldwin talks about what drove him to found the ACLU (the government's attacks on protesters during WWI) and some of the cases in which the ACLU defended people. One of the earliest examples was the Scopes Trial (so the documentary includes scenes from Stanley Kramer's "Inherit the Wind", featuring Dick York a few years before he became Darrin Stephens). An important point is that the ACLU defends the right of all sides to say what they want. After all, for what does the First Amendment exist if not to defend the rights of people to say things that we find repugnant?
The director is the recently deceased John G. Avildsen (of "Rocky" fame). I guess that he was one versatile director (he also gave us 1970's "Joe", 1973's "Save the Tiger" and 1981's "Neighbors"). I understand that his output slowed towards the end, but you can't deny that he made some important movies during his heyday. I recommend this one. And always remember to stand up for your rights!
