*Continue playing 'Por Una Cabeza'*
contains
profanity
Trask: Mr. Sims, you are a
cover-up artist and you are a liar.
Slade: But not a
snitch.
Trask: Excuse me?
Slade: No, I don't think I
will.
Trask: Mr. Slade.
Slade: This is such a crock of
shit.
Trask: Please watch your
language, Mr. Slade. You are in the Baird School not a barracks.
Mr. Sims, I will give you one final opportunity to speak
up.
Slade: Mr. Sims doesn't want
it. He doesn't need to labeled: "Still worthy of being a 'Baird
Man.'" What the hell is that? What is your motto here? "Boys,
inform on your classmates, save your hide" -- anything short of
that we're gonna burn you at the stake? Well, gentlemen, when the
shit hits the fan some guys run and some guys stay. Here's Charlie
facing the fire; and there's George hidin' in big Daddy's pocket.
And what are you doin'? You're gonna reward George and destroy
Charlie.
Trask: Are you finished, Mr.
Slade?
Slade: No, I'm just gettin'
warmed up. I don't know who went to this place, William Howard
Taft, William Jennings Bryan, William Tell -- whoever. Their spirit
is dead -- if they ever had one -- it's gone. You're building a rat
ship here. A vessel for sea goin' snitches. And if you think your
preparing these minnows for manhood you better think again. Because
I say you are killing the very spirit this institution proclaims it
instills! What a sham. What kind of a show are you guys puttin' on
here today. I mean, the only class in this act is sittin' next to
me. And I'm here to tell ya this boy's soul is intact. It's
non-negotiable. You know how I know? Someone here -- and I'm not
gonna say who -- offered to buy it. Only Charlie here wasn't
sellin'.
Trask: Sir, you are out of
order!
Slade: Outta order? I'll show
you outta order! You don't know what outta order is, Mr. Trask! I'd
show you but I'm too old; I'm too tired; I'm too fuckin' blind. If
I were the man I was five years ago I'd take a FLAME-THROWER to
this place! Outta order. Who the hell you think you're talkin' to?
I've been around, you know? There was a time I could see. And I
have seen boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out,
their legs ripped off. But there isn't nothin' like the sight of an
amputated spirit; there is no prosthetic for that. You think you're
merely sendin' this splendid foot-soldier back home to Oregon with
his tail between his legs, but I say you are executin' his SOUL!!
And why?! Because he's not a Baird man! Baird men, ya hurt this
boy, you're going to be Baird Bums, the lot of ya. And Harry,
Jimmy, Trent, wherever you are out there, FUCK YOU, too!
Mr. Trask: Stand down, Mr.
Slade!
Slade: I'm not finished! As I
came in here, I heard those words, "cradle of leadership." Well,
when the bow breaks, the cradle will fall. And it has fallen here;
it has fallen. Makers of men; creators of leaders; be careful what
kind of leaders you're producin' here. I don't know if Charlie's
silence here today is right or wrong.
I'm not a judge or
jury. But I can tell you this: he won't sell anybody out to buy his
future!! And that, my friends, is called integrity! That's called
courage! Now that's the stuff leaders should be made of. Now I have
come to the crossroads in my life. I always knew what the right
path was. Without exception, I knew. But I never took it. You know
why? It was too damn hard. Now here's Charlie. He's come to the
crossroads. He has chosen a path. It's the right path. It's a path
made of principle -- that leads to character. Let him continue on
his journey.
You hold this boy's
future in your hands, committee. It's a valuable future. Believe
me. Don't destroy it! Protect it. Embrace it. It's gonna make ya
proud one day -- I promise you.
