Defending Your Life Page #4

I'm going to get you.

I promise.

Don't make conversation.

Are you two feuding?

It isn't a feud. Feuding suggests

at one time you liked each other.

We never did.

-This should be a mistrial.

-It's not a trial.

Then it's a mis-whatever it is.

You two are already fighting.

-Good morning.

-Good morning.

I'm sure your defender explained

the basics to you, but let me just say...

...even though this feels like a trial, it isn't.

It's just a process that helps us decide.

As imperfect as it may be,

we think it works quite well.

What you'll see on the screen...

...will look and feel so real to you,

you might be uneasy at first.

Just relax. After a while, I think

it will become pleasurable to you.

They tell me it feels something like 3-D.

Any questions, Mr. Miller?

You may begin.

Thank you, Your Honors.

Over the following four days,

I will attempt to show that Daniel Miller...

...while he is a quality human being,

is still held back...

...by the fears that have plagued him...

...lifetime after lifetime.

I believe that I can show

without a shadow of a doubt...

...that he must once again be returned

to Earth to work on this problem.

May we begin in childhood, please?

Could we go to...

...11-4-19?

By the way...

...this signifies you're 11 years,

four months and 19 days old.

-Is that clear?

-I think so.

In other words, if I said, 9-2-17...

...you would be nine years,

two months and 17 days old.

I understand.

Realistic, isn't it, Mr. Miller?

-Look what I found.

-Give me that.

Make me.

Why don't you make me?

You can't make me

because I'll beat the sh*t out of you.

You couldn't.

Hit him, Daniel!

Come on!

Chicken! Hit me right here.

Come on, chicken.

Hit him, Daniel!

Stick up for yourself, low-life chicken.

That's too bad.

Come over to my house later

and I'll help you glue it back together.

What were you feeling as you watched

that episode?

It felt strange to watch myself.

Is that what you mean?

I mean emotionally.

What kind of feelings did this bring up?

Frustration?

It's not a test. There's no right answer.

Is that what you felt?

Frustration?

I guess.

Why were you afraid?

I object.

How did we introduce the word "afraid"?

From frustration to "afraid"?

This is already pronouncing him guilty.

-Could we use another word?

-Which one?

What word would I use?

How about "restraint"?

I think the little boy was dignified.

"Restraint"?

May I show you what I mean?

Be my guest.

Your Honors, may we go to 1-8-17, please?

What are you accusing me of?

Say it to my face!

-What?

-You never think about my problems.

-Lower your voice.

-Lower my voice?

Don't yell in front of the baby.

It's always the baby. What about me?

I live here, too!

I work hard to pay for this house!

-I know you do!

-The minute I earn it, you spend it!

You think I spend too much?

All I do is scrimp!

If you don't like it,

then why don't you leave?

Stop it! This happens when you drink!

Lecture time!

Just sit down and join the lecture!

Don't touch me!

In that brief moment,

when that baby and his father's eyes met...

...this child learned the meaning

of restraint.

He wasn't afraid. He was mature.

He was non-violent. Dignified, I call it.

My colleague may believe in

"Hit first, ask questions later"...

...but we're not all that way.

I resent that.

Let's ask Mr. Miller. In the schoolyard,

did you want to hit that child back?

I wanted to hit him back,

but I felt restraint.

You felt restraint. I see.

Is restraint always

the best course of action in every case?

No.

Wouldn't this have been a case

to not restrain yourself?

If you had stuck up for yourself...

...this event would not have haunted you

all your life.

You never forgot this.

You always thought about it.

Hold on. People think about lots

of things throughout their entire life.

You're isolating this incident?

Aren't we here to isolate incidents?

Or maybe I don't understand the job.

Your Honors, to save valuable time...

...l submit 11-4-19 as shown

without further comment.

I'm fully satisfied. I love watching this kid.

Anything you want to say?

I feel very good about the "restraint" idea.

Thank you.

You're up.

While we're still in childhood...

...l'd like to show something

absolutely extraordinary.

Could we go to 10-9-15, please?

I'm on probation for stealing books.

They're going to think I stole this.

I'll be expelled.

You won't.

Of course, I will. I'm already in big trouble.

Good afternoon.

Continue working

on the assignment you began last Tuesday.

Take these.

-I'll say I lost mine.

-You'll be in trouble.

Just do it.

Where are your supplies?

-I left them at home.

-Left them?

I lost them.

Did you lose them or leave them?

Both. I left them and lost them.

Where are your supplies? Do you know

how much such these things cost?

-Class, tell Daniel how much paint costs.

-$10.

-And the brushes?

-$3.

-What's the total?

-$13.

You can't be an artist without paint.

Like you can't swim unless you get

in the water. You must have paint.

This is careless behavior.

I have to call your father today.

Somehow, you must pay for this.

Yeah.

You got in quite a bit of trouble for that.

But you felt your friend would have been

punished worse.

At 10 years old, he showed

the kind of courage most adults never find.

I let the life stand for itself here.

Could we go to 10-9-15?

The evening of that same day.

-How will you pay for this?

-I don't know!

I'm very disappointed in you.

I'm sorry.

-We must punish you severely.

-We don't have to!

Yes, we do.

First of all, no television for a month.

I didn't do it! Steve did! It's Steve's fault!

What?

Steve lost the paints.

He probably stole them.

I didn't do it.

Punish him!

What happened to your friend Steve?

Do you remember, Mr. Miller?

What do you mean?

He was expelled from school

two days later, isn't that right?

I thought he left on his own.

What's the point?

I'm looking at the results

of what you call a courageous act.

Mr. Miller might have acted bravely

in class...

...but we just watched him crumble

a few hours later, and why?

At the threat of no television?

I was ten years old. Television is

everything to a ten-year-old.

It's like heroin. You can't just pull it away.

I never wanted to watch.

My parents made me because they wanted

to go out and I got hooked.

Miss Foster and I

have had this argument before.

I think the act itself is what's important.

She wants to keep enlarging it

until everything loses meaning.

If I fixed a flat tire on your car and

two years later I lose your garden hose...

...according to you,

I won't get credit for the flat.

I'm just the dummy who lost the hose.

Let me suggest this.

Did we ever consider that

this boy had a bond with his father?

It had nothing to do with his friend.

I just think Daniel couldn't lie to his dad.

That's all.

You're nodding, Mr. Miller.

Does that mean you agree?

I had a bond with my father.

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