Lessons from Casablanca: 75th Anniversary: Still the Same Old Story

I’ve been thinking about my favorite film and how relevant it remains despite its glossy images of a world in turmoil. Here are a few things to remember:

1. “With the coming of the Second World War, many eyes in imprisoned Europe turned hopefully, or desperately, toward the freedom of the Americas. Lisbon became the great embarkation point. But, not everybody could get to Lisbon directly, and so a tortuous, roundabout refugee trail sprang up…” This is the opening narration. The direction of today’s refugees differs only slightly; some who can afford it travel to America, but many first cross the Mediterranean Sea to Italy or Greece from Africa. It is not Hitler’s Nazis they fear. No, it is the fact that the intense climate’s effect on crops and abject poverty or corruption that has them scurrying for help…for freedom. Unfortunately, due to fear many are turned away, even Syrians whose towns have been blown to bits. This is not the America of Casablanca. That is why “Everyone comes to Rick’s”

2. “And what if you track down these men and kill them, what if you killed all of us? From every corner of Europe, hundreds, thousands would rise up to take our places. Even Nazis can't kill that fast.” Victor Laszlo, leader of the resistance, reminds us of the dangers of those who have a singular view of what is a "superior" race. America was reminded of how these white supremacists are still among us in Charlottesville.

3. “I'm the only ‘cause’ I'm interested in.” Rick Blaine argues the case for isolationism. He is selfish and has been burnt in his fight for the underdogs—and his lost love, Ilsa Lund. This is a reminder of what is commonly called “The Zero Sum Game.” In simple terms, anything I give up for another means I lose it for myself. So civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights—each of these groups that have been disenfranchised in the past now wish to be

included in the America fabric and given equal opportunity. For some, that takes away from their “traditional” power. Instead of growing the pie, they feel that the pie is being sliced away from them; thus, they are "the only cause they are fighting" for. Rick’s mantra: “I stick my neck out for nobody.”

4.  Senor Ferrari: “What do you want for Sam?” Rick: “I don't buy or sell human beings.” Casablanca makes a statement in 1942 about civil rights. Sam, the African American piano player, is not for sale. Sam and Rick’s friendship and mutual respect runs deep. This is another lesson relevant today. Once people of good faith meet, the color of one’s skin should never come between them. Black Lives Matter—Human lives matter. But even in Casablanca, the Nazi General states: “As you have observed human life is cheap here in Casablanca.”

5.” If it's December 1941 in Casablanca, what time is it in New York? …I'd bet they're asleep in New York. I'd bet they're asleep all over America.” Rick Blaine eventually realizes that his “destiny” in the battle of good over evil is shaped by his sacrifices, even losing the love of his life, for a cause bigger than anything he's faced before. he lives in. Are we asleep? Are we not noticing that we as a nation are slipping backward and not progressing forward? President Obama believed that "our best days lie ahead." However, events of this year seem to be pushing us away from the being the beacon of freedom and hope and into a nation of fear and divisiveness. Rick realizes his selfishness and finds strength when he tells Ilsa:

: “I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.”
As the film closes, Rick’s foil Victor Laszlo nods to Rick as he boards to plane to tell America to wake up to the atrocities occurring in Hitler’s Germany: “Welcome back to the fight. I know this time our side will win.”