Love is all that really matters

The film Forrest Gump answered the biggest questions of my life. Even more surprising is that it has answered those questions I never even thought of or dared to ask. The film became my ticket to manhood; it was to me what the burning bush was to Moses.

And why wouldn’t it be? Someone once said, "I think therefore I am." Clearly, his statement was a justification of his existence. Whoever said this clearly had his fair share of quiet times thinking about what life is all about. Even more clearly, he was human. For how many times have you stared out into the open space and pondered on your existence? Or what tomorrow will bring? Or what’s the point of it all? Is life really just a box of chocolates as Forrest Gump said, the contents of which you’ll never really know until you open your mouth and taste them?

It’s funny how the film’s writer decided to present Forrest Gump as a mentally-challenged man, someone stupid, to put it in a crass and insensitive term. The "heroes" of Hollywood films are very unlike Forrest – these days they head-bashing juveniles or the suave, macho gun-dispensing-muscle-ripping-swear-by-the-minute leading men.

The butt of laughter and ridicule for almost his entire life, Forrest Gump takes us on a journey that is both amazing and real it seems ridiculous. For it seems so ridiculous that this "stupid" person almost always finds himself in the center of the most important events of his time. Remember the young man with the guitar case who swung his hips in Forrest’s home? That’s supposed to be Elvis Presley. Forrest also receives the Congressional Medal of Honor and meets President John Kennedy. His face is also splashed all over America’s glossy pages for his marathon run. Pretty tall orders, aren’t they? But not for this "stupid" fellow.

Forrest Gump knows it doesn’t take a genius to know the most important things in life. The medals? No. The money? Hell, no. Meeting the President of the US for the nth time? Not at all. Love. Pure, instinctive love. Yes, the one everybody has deep inside of us. The only difference is that Forrest never loses sight of his love. Love he has, and love he gives unselfishly. Have you ever known someone with this kind of this unwavering love?

Now, if being stupid means wanting the best for the people you love, keeping your promise to a dying friend, or helping a crippled man understand the value of living, hell, I’ll take my chances.

Everyone blindly wishes for fame, riches, medals, and power. Never mind if love is sacrificed. Now that’s stupid, don’t you think?