Finding Our Voices
How is America coming to grips with the harsh treatment of those crying out in despair on the eve of a terrible war?
They were lonely voices swamped by a domineering system, deaf from the lust for battle in the wake of Sept 11th. Today America is a changed landscape with the war universally unpopular. The contradictions between now and then are stark, illogical, confusing. Today how is America coming to grips with the harsh treatment of those crying out in despair on the eve of a terrible war?
They knew that their country was violating every ideal it purported to stand for....so they put their lives on the line and attempted to stop a war. From the raw energy of street demonstrations, to interviews with compelling personalities, this is a film about eight courageous Americans who risked their lives, liberty and reputations to avert the Iraq war.
A grandmother who saw her son die at the World Trade centre on September 11th, 2001 struggles to provide him with a legacy of peace. "I felt it was an abomination that he would die trying to save lives, and, as a result of that, tens of thousands would lose their lives," cries Adele Welty.
A soldier who felt his sacrifice was based on a lie. "I was personally hurt to find out that every reason I was told that I had to go to that country, invade that country, go to war with that country was false," asserts John Bruhns. "We were told WMD, we were told an imminent threat to this country, we were told a possible link between Saddam and Al Qaeda ... it seems as if now that doesn't matter any more ... like it's a moot point. That bothers me."
Soldiers and politicians, activists and mothers, transform tragedy into hope, sacrificing everything to speak a truth that was often condemned as treasonous. "When you look at the whole issue of democracy, it's a thin line between being a democracy and being a fascist state; and it's easy to slip over to being a fascist state, when citizens cease to question, when citizens cease to hold accountable," declares Rev. Graylan Hagler.
Continuing in an oft forgotten tradition of American dissent, the eight heroes portrayed in Finding Our Voices remind audiences that citizens are the key elements of a democracy, and that it is our job to change the world.
FULL SYNOPSIS