A documentary starring, directed by, and co-written by Greg Simmons, Mission Peace: The Staunch Moderates Documentary, exists to provide a brief oral history of how a political movement spearheaded by a bunch of older Aspenites came to be. In the wake of both the 2020 election and the turmoil surrounding the 2016 election of Donald Trump, Bo Persiko and Greg Simmons decided to found a movement to encourage political moderacy. The aegis of this idea was to “lower the political temperature” of the country and enable a peace-seeking dialogue to blossom across the United States.
As this is an oral history of the founding of the Staunch Moderates political movement, it’s not for this film to determine their success. Simply, it introduces the concept of being staunchly politically moderate to any and all who view it. This philosophy, espoused by Simmons and Persiko, is one of determined moderation. While they refuse to be pushovers, as we learn in Simmons’ spiel during the Philosophy section, they possess a singular goal of bringing both sides of the political divide together to have a dialogue that will generate a much-desired peace, at least for the Staunch Moderates.
“…an oral history of the founding of the Staunch Moderates political movement…”
Simmons, as we see throughout Mission Peace: The Staunch Moderates Documentary, is a big-picture kind of guy. He has single-handedly thrown himself into this movement, such that it clearly has become his life’s work. As we watch, he develops a Staunch Moderates talk show. They also created a mascot for the movement, a sasquatch named Staunch. The tale of Staunch’s origin is endearing, and I will leave it for Mr. Simmons to narrate that for you, gentle reader.
The single most fascinating element comes as the world is shuttering and locking down in the face of the pandemic. There’s Mr. Simmons raring to go. He’s so devoted to this cause he will not permit anything to derail its momentum. As the primaries heat up, the Staunch Moderates field many online discussion boards. Listening to how these two older men related to all the health advice of would-be experts, one gets a real sense of the essence of the staunch moderates. They’re not looking to commit any radical changes to the duopoly that runs this land. Instead, they wish to retrain all debaters, lefties, righties, Democrats, and Republicans on how to disagree in a meaningful and thoughtful way that leads to an eventual compromise. In this hyper-polarized political environment, the man insisting on “being considerate” is the insane radical.
Mission Peace: The Staunch Moderates Documentary is meant for everyone to see. Whether or not you choose to watch it or even sign on to Simmons and Persiko’s movement is entirely up to you. I would not dare suggest anything political to you, o sweet reader of my reviews. Instead, I would suggest the film is a fun, loosey-goosey political documentary. Seek it out if you choose.
For screening information, visit the Mission Peace: The Staunch Moderates Documentary official website.
"…fun, loosey-goosey..."
