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ETHOS | Full Film | hosted by Woody Harrelson | Cinema Libre Studio

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You are in the read-only mode. Close
00:00.0
62:27.0
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Every day we turn on the TV
and there's more bad news--


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another environmental
catastrophe


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somewhere or more starving
refugees or innocent victims


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00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:48,310
in war zones.


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And most of us are busy
trying to make ends meet


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00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,020
in our own lives, and
we see these images


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and feel helpless to
do anything about it.


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I think the deep shame we
feel about that is paralyzing,


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and certainly one of the
reasons that we turn away.


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The object of this
documentary is


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to look at the
flaws in our systems


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that allow these
things to happen


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and the mechanisms that
actually work against us,


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and to show you a very
simple but powerful


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way that we can actually
change the world we live in.


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The material for
this film is taken


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from facts available
to the public


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and from interviews with some
of today's leading thinkers.


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However, we do live in a world
full of conspiracy theories.


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And all I ask is that
you keep an open mind,


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but question everything.


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Because people have got
to know whether or not


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their president's a crook.


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Well, I'm not a crook.


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I did not have sexual
relations with that woman.


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Indeed I did have a
relationship with Ms. Lewinsky.


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I think that gay marriage
should be allowed.


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I do not believe that gay
marriages should be legal.


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I am honored to be
here with Barack Obama.


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So shame on you, Barack Obama.


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Iran, Cuba, Venezuela--
these countries


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are tiny compared
to the Soviet Union.


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They don't pose a
serious threat to us.


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Iran is a great threat.


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We can end illegal immigration.


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We're never ever going
to be able to totally


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control immigration.


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You have said in
the past that it was,


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quote, pretty well confirmed.


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-No, I never said that.
-OK.


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I never said that.


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REPORTER (ON TV):
I think that is--


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Absolutely not.
What I said was--


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Uh, it's been pretty
well confirmed.


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There are no knowns.


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There are things we
know that we know.


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There are known unknowns.


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That is to say there are things
that we now know we don't know.


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But there are also
unknown unknowns.


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There are things we
do know we don't know.


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One of the most important
beliefs that people have


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about politicians is
that politicians do


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whatever polls tell them to do.


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We hear a lot of complaint about
the lack of strong leadership--


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that politicians find out
what the public wants and then


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they pander to it, or at least
they say they'll pander to it.


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Now, what this idea of the
poll-driven politician creates


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is the impression that
the political system


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may have all kinds of problems.


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But on the whole, it's
responsive and accountable


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to the public.


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So, how do we explain this
contradiction between the myth


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that politicians reflect
the public and the reality


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that, on most
economic issues, they


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actually ignore public opinion?


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Media influence
on public opinion


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has been studied
from many years now.


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We know, for example, that the
media often play what's called


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an "agenda-setting role."


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Public concern
about issues tends


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to follow media
coverage of those issues


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rather than any changes
in the real world.


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The media create the impression
that the American public


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has a real choice.


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You can choose Bush
or you can choose


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Gore-- the implication
being that they're


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both very different.


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But on substantive budgetary
or economic issues,


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the differences between them
are really on the margins.


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But is leading Democrats
and Republicans


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support a privatized
health care system.


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00:04:00,780 --> 00:04:03,540
They support corporate-backed
global trade agreements,


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00:04:03,540 --> 00:04:06,270
they support maintaining
a Cold War defense budget,


84
00:04:06,270 --> 00:04:10,100
and they generally favor the
interests of big business.


85
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But the media give
the impression


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that Democrats and Republicans
represent a broad range


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of opinion by focusing on civil
liberty, non-monetary issues,


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like gay rights or abortion,
where Democrats and Republicans


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really do differ.


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And this masks the degree
of elite consensus.


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There's a couple of
completely logical reasons


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why our politicians
are so similar.


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The end game for politicians
is to get elected.


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The people who vote are, for
the most part, quite moderate


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in their views.


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Both parties try to occupy
that middle, moderate ground.


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They are simply responding
to that majority in order


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to get elected.


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The second reason our
politicians are so similar


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is much more sinister.


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They answer increasingly
to the same master.


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Thank you so much
for your time.


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We're looking easily at
the first billion-dollar


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presidential election.


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It's much bigger money
than we've ever seen


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in a presidential election.


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We define a candidate
as being serious or not


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by how much money they
can raise, not by what


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ideas they have, what their
record in public service


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might have been.


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It's all about money.


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We really don't have
an election anymore.


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We have an auction.


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And what's for sale?


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I mean, these are
interesting questions to ask.


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Every incoming president
rewards big donors


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with ambassadorships and
other honorary appointments


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like that.


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There are all kinds
of policy issues.


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Is a big donor
rewarded with a place


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on a federal advisory panel
that might have something


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to do with, say,
approving new drugs


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or environmental regulations?


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All of these questions about
what's for sale-- you know?


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Is government for sale?


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Is the White House for sale?


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I think a lot of Americans
suspect that it is.


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The money flows in for
a reason, and the reason


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is not good government.


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It is completely unrealistic
to expect democracy


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to deliver representatives who
serve the people's interests


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when so much money is involved.


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Having so much money
in politics gives all


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the power to those with money.


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Yes, we are all still
allowed to vote.


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But how free is our choice?


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The media in the
hands of big business


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will only present us
with politicians that


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will serve their interests.


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It would be completely illogical
for them to do otherwise.


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It would also be
illogical to expect


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politicians to change a system
that puts them in power.


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But it certainly begs
the question-- just what


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kind of democracy do we have?


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Do you want to live in
a democratic society,


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or do you want to live
in the society we have--


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which, remember, is not
a democratic society,


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and is not intended to be.


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If you take a course in
political theory here,


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I'm sure they'll teach
you that the United


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States is not a democracy.


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It's what's called, in
the technical literature,


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a polyarchy.


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A polyarchy is a system
in which power resides


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in the hands of
those who Madison


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called the "wealth
of the nation,"


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the responsible class of men.


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And the rest of the
population is fragmented.


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But that's the way the
country was founded.


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TONY BENN: Throughout
the history of the world,


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the rich and powerful
have dominated it.


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And very few people
have had any control


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of their own governments.


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But most real power in the
world is still exercised


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by those we do not elect.


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We are still far from
governing ourselves.


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The basis of democracy
is the belief


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that we were all born equal,
and that that equality must


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be accepted by those in power.


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But in the attempts
to win those rights,


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many people have been
imprisoned and tortured


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by those who have power and
were determined to retain it.


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No one in power really
wants democracy,


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because democracy would
challenge their power


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structures and their authority.


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So anyone who comes out
with a democratic idea


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is dismissed as unrepresentative
or a troublemaker


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or an extremists or something.


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And in this way, the full
throw of a public debate


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about alternatives is
being extinguished.


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Big business is
about making money.


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That's what big
business does well.


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Governments, however,
have to balance the needs


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of the whole society,
including big business,


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based on ethics and social
and moral responsibility.


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But if our corporations
have become


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more powerful than
our governments,


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then we have to understand
the effect that is


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going to have on our systems.


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HOWARD INN: Corporations
are artificial creations.


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You might say they
are monsters trying


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to devour as much profit as
possible, at anyone's expense.


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The 14th Amendment was passed
at the end of the Civil War


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to give equal rights
to black people.


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And what happens is the
corporations come into court,


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and corporation lawyers
are very clever.


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And they say, oh, you
can't deprive a person


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of life, liberty, or property.


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We are a person.


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A corporation is a person.


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These are a special kind of
persons, which are designed,


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by law, to be concerned
only for their stockholders,


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and not say what
are sometimes called


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their stakeholders, like the
community or the workforce


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or whatever.


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I believe the mistake
that a lot of people


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00:10:01,170 --> 00:10:03,380
make when they think
about corporations is they


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think corporations are like us.


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00:10:05,340 --> 00:10:06,050
They have feelings.


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00:10:06,050 --> 00:10:07,840
They have politics.


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They have belief systems.


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They really only have one
thing-- the bottom line.


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NARRATOR: All publicly
traded corporations


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have been structured through
a series of legal decisions


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00:10:18,980 --> 00:10:22,810
to have a very disturbing
characteristic.


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00:10:22,810 --> 00:10:27,170
They are required, by law, to
place the financial interests


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00:10:27,170 --> 00:10:32,570
of their owners above everything
else, even the public good.


218
00:10:32,570 --> 00:10:33,780
That's not a law of nature.


219
00:10:33,780 --> 00:10:35,480
That's a very
specific decision--


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00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:37,780
in fact, a judicial decision.


221
00:10:37,780 --> 00:10:40,760
So they're concerned only
for the short-term profit


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00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:45,310
of their stockholders, who
are very highly concentrated.


223
00:10:45,310 --> 00:10:49,390
So the pressure's on the
corporation to deliver results


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00:10:49,390 --> 00:10:52,920
now, and to
externalize any costs


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00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,180
that this unwary
or uncaring public


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will allow it to externalize.


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00:10:59,260 --> 00:11:03,320
Towards the end of 1989,
a great box of documents


228
00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:06,000
arrived at my office
without any indication


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00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:07,780
where they came from.


230
00:11:07,780 --> 00:11:12,300
And I opened them and found in
it a complete set of Monsanto


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00:11:12,300 --> 00:11:14,540
files-- particularly
a set of files


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dealing with toxicological
testing of cows


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who had been given rBGH.


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00:11:19,750 --> 00:11:22,220
REPORTER (ON RECORDING):
BST, trade name Posilac,


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00:11:22,220 --> 00:11:25,080
is being used in more than
a quarter of the dairy herds


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00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:27,420
in the United States,
according to Monsanto.


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The milk is being drunk
by a large portion


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00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:31,990
of the American population
since the Food and Drug


239
00:11:31,990 --> 00:11:35,140
Administration declared it
safe for both cows and humans


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00:11:35,140 --> 00:11:35,840
four years ago.


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00:11:35,840 --> 00:11:38,000
And at that time,
Monsanto was saying


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there's no evidence whatsoever
of any adverse effects.


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00:11:40,790 --> 00:11:42,340
We don't use antibiotics.


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00:11:42,340 --> 00:11:44,790
And this clearly
showed that they


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00:11:44,790 --> 00:11:47,260
had lied through their teeth.


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00:11:47,260 --> 00:11:49,960
The files described areas
of chronic inflammation


247
00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,030
in the heart, lung,
kidneys, spleen,


248
00:11:52,030 --> 00:11:56,160
also reproductive effects,
also a whole series


249
00:11:56,160 --> 00:11:57,850
of other problems.


250
00:11:57,850 --> 00:12:00,610
There's a cost to the cows.


251
00:12:00,610 --> 00:12:04,030
The cows get sicker when
they're injected with rBGH.


252
00:12:04,030 --> 00:12:07,290
They're injected
with antibiotics.


253
00:12:07,290 --> 00:12:10,280
We know that people
are consuming


254
00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,020
antibiotics through their food.


255
00:12:12,020 --> 00:12:13,560
And we know that
that's contributing


256
00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:16,790
to antibiotic-resistant
bacteria and diseases.


257
00:12:16,790 --> 00:12:18,650
And we know we're at a
crisis when somebody can


258
00:12:18,650 --> 00:12:21,140
go into a hospital and
get a staph infection


259
00:12:21,140 --> 00:12:23,600
and it can't be
cured and they die.


260
00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:24,760
That's a crisis.


261
00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:26,520
Again and again,
we have the problem


262
00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:28,940
that whether you
obey the law or not


263
00:12:28,940 --> 00:12:31,400
is a matter of whether
it's cost-effective.


264
00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:35,550
If the chance of getting
caught and the penalty are less


265
00:12:35,550 --> 00:12:39,350
than a cost to comply,
people think of it as being


266
00:12:39,350 --> 00:12:41,610
just a business decision.


267
00:12:41,610 --> 00:12:45,020
Every living system
of earth is in decline.


268
00:12:45,020 --> 00:12:49,630
Every life support system
of earth is in decline.


269
00:12:49,630 --> 00:12:52,530
And these together
constitute the biosphere--


270
00:12:52,530 --> 00:12:55,620
the biosphere that supports
and nurtures all of life.


271
00:12:55,620 --> 00:12:57,760
And not just our
life, but perhaps


272
00:12:57,760 --> 00:12:59,890
30 million other species.


273
00:12:59,890 --> 00:13:03,770
The typical company of the
20th century-- extractive,


274
00:13:03,770 --> 00:13:08,210
wasteful, abusive, linear
in all of its processes,


275
00:13:08,210 --> 00:13:11,360
taking from the earth,
making, wasting.


276
00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,010
We're leaving that
terrible legacy.


277
00:13:15,010 --> 00:13:16,900
Corporations have gone global.


278
00:13:16,900 --> 00:13:19,350
Regardless of whether the
corporation can be trusted


279
00:13:19,350 --> 00:13:23,470
or cannot be trusted,
governments today do not have


280
00:13:23,470 --> 00:13:26,360
over the corporations
the power that


281
00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:31,070
they had and the leverage that
they had 50 or 60 years ago.


282
00:13:31,070 --> 00:13:32,140
And that's a major change.


283
00:13:32,140 --> 00:13:35,740
So governments have
become powerless compared


284
00:13:35,740 --> 00:13:38,100
to what they were before.


285
00:13:38,100 --> 00:13:41,870
Capitalism today commands
the towering heights


286
00:13:41,870 --> 00:13:44,860
and has displaced
politics and politicians


287
00:13:44,860 --> 00:13:46,910
as the new high priests.


288
00:13:46,910 --> 00:13:50,810
Corporations, by law, must
increase their bottom line.


289
00:13:50,810 --> 00:13:53,180
In order to expand, they
have to sell more products.


290
00:13:53,180 --> 00:13:56,980
To sell more products, they
must consume more resources.


291
00:13:56,980 --> 00:14:00,340
Even going back 50 years, we
could see the effect that this


292
00:14:00,340 --> 00:14:02,750
was having on our environment.


293
00:14:02,750 --> 00:14:05,930
Today, the effects of
pollution and industrialization


294
00:14:05,930 --> 00:14:10,060
have multiplied 10-fold, and
the damage is terrifying.


295
00:14:10,060 --> 00:14:12,340
And yet, these same
corporations still want


296
00:14:12,340 --> 00:14:14,860
to drill for oil in the Arctic.


297
00:14:14,860 --> 00:14:17,110
And that's not
just morally blind.


298
00:14:17,110 --> 00:14:18,610
That's morally bankrupt.


299
00:14:18,610 --> 00:14:21,780
Also corporate expansion
into other countries


300
00:14:21,780 --> 00:14:23,800
to get those
resources is the cause


301
00:14:23,800 --> 00:14:28,060
of so much war and conflict,
as you will see in this film.


302
00:14:28,060 --> 00:14:31,380
We need our corporations to
bring us the technologies--


303
00:14:31,380 --> 00:14:34,070
many of which already
exist-- that can help


304
00:14:34,070 --> 00:14:36,270
us address the issues we face.


305
00:14:36,270 --> 00:14:40,320
And yet the system encourages
a thirst for short-term profit.


306
00:14:50,220 --> 00:14:53,070
I know many of us have heard
stories about powerful groups


307
00:14:53,070 --> 00:14:55,490
of businessmen who pull
the strings of governments


308
00:14:55,490 --> 00:14:57,880
from behind closed doors.


309
00:14:57,880 --> 00:15:01,040
And so many rumors have sprung
up around organizations,


310
00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:02,850
like the Bilderbergs
and the Council


311
00:15:02,850 --> 00:15:05,680
on Foreign Relations,
that it's really difficult


312
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:07,190
to know what to believe.


313
00:15:07,190 --> 00:15:11,320
However, it is an interesting
fact-- the Federal Reserve


314
00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:13,910
Bank of the United
States is not actually


315
00:15:13,910 --> 00:15:15,510
owned by the government.


316
00:15:15,510 --> 00:15:18,940
It is owned by a
private banking cartel.


317
00:15:18,940 --> 00:15:22,900
Now, whoever these men are that
can loan money to governments


318
00:15:22,900 --> 00:15:26,400
have to be some of the most
influential men in the world.


319
00:15:26,400 --> 00:15:28,450
And yet, we don't
know who they are.


320
00:15:28,450 --> 00:15:31,570
Not all conspiracy
theories are just theories,


321
00:15:31,570 --> 00:15:33,570
and the research for
this film pulled up


322
00:15:33,570 --> 00:15:34,680
some interesting quotes.


323
00:16:16,170 --> 00:16:20,300
NARRATOR: Gold is valuable
because it is relatively rare.


324
00:16:20,300 --> 00:16:23,780
Like gold, the value of
money is determined by how


325
00:16:23,780 --> 00:16:26,640
much money is in circulation.


326
00:16:26,640 --> 00:16:30,040
One would think the power to
regulate the money supply that


327
00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:34,290
controls our economy and
affects our lives in every way


328
00:16:34,290 --> 00:16:37,050
would be in the hands of the
government of the people.


329
00:16:37,050 --> 00:16:40,080
But surprisingly, it is not.


330
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:42,550
The power to control
the money supply


331
00:16:42,550 --> 00:16:45,710
is in the hands of the
Federal Reserve Bank.


332
00:16:45,710 --> 00:16:48,990
It is important to note
the Federal Reserve is


333
00:16:48,990 --> 00:16:51,480
not a government organization.


334
00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:54,030
It is a private banking cartel.


335
00:16:54,030 --> 00:16:58,180
The Federal Reserve
System is a banking cartel.


336
00:16:58,180 --> 00:17:00,730
It's no different than a
banana cartel or an oil


337
00:17:00,730 --> 00:17:02,600
cartel or the sugar cartel.


338
00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:04,900
It just happens to
be a banking cartel.


339
00:17:04,900 --> 00:17:06,270
Congress, in
essence, has seated


340
00:17:06,270 --> 00:17:09,090
total control of the value
of our money to a secret


341
00:17:09,090 --> 00:17:10,930
to a central bank.


342
00:17:10,930 --> 00:17:13,720
It's a group of very
large and powerful


343
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:15,170
private banking interests.


344
00:17:15,170 --> 00:17:17,600
Congress knows nothing
of the conversations,


345
00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:19,790
the plans, and the
action taken in concert


346
00:17:19,790 --> 00:17:20,990
with other central banks.


347
00:17:20,990 --> 00:17:23,510
The government has
given it a monopoly,


348
00:17:23,510 --> 00:17:28,000
a virtual monopoly, to create
the nation's money supply.


349
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,930
But all these actions
directed by the Federal Reserve


350
00:17:30,930 --> 00:17:34,440
alter the purchasing
power of our money.


351
00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:37,790
This has significant
consequences on our economy


352
00:17:37,790 --> 00:17:39,740
and our political stability.


353
00:17:39,740 --> 00:17:43,860
Wages never keep up with profits
on Wall Street and the banks,


354
00:17:43,860 --> 00:17:46,750
thus sowing the seeds
of class and discontent.


355
00:17:46,750 --> 00:17:49,350
NARRATOR: It is bewildering
to think that we allow


356
00:17:49,350 --> 00:17:53,490
an unelected and unregulated
group of private bankers


357
00:17:53,490 --> 00:17:57,910
to wield such incredible
influence over our society.


358
00:17:57,910 --> 00:18:01,200
The truth is that most of
us will live from paycheck


359
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:04,600
to paycheck in a continued
state of struggle,


360
00:18:04,600 --> 00:18:08,080
unable to question a system
of finance that keeps


361
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,760
us on a constant treadmill.


362
00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,190
And while most of us
struggle to stay ahead,


363
00:18:13,190 --> 00:18:15,940
billions of dollars
in profits flow


364
00:18:15,940 --> 00:18:20,560
into the hands of private
bankers at our expense.


365
00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:23,620
For this is how
the system works.


366
00:18:23,620 --> 00:18:26,080
Whenever the
government needs money,


367
00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:29,190
it requests it from
the Federal Reserve.


368
00:18:29,190 --> 00:18:32,030
But the Fed doesn't just give
the money to the government.


369
00:18:32,030 --> 00:18:35,170
It loans the money at interest.


370
00:18:35,170 --> 00:18:37,020
Every dollar the
government loans


371
00:18:37,020 --> 00:18:39,020
from the Federal
Reserve Bank has


372
00:18:39,020 --> 00:18:41,540
to be paid back with interest.


373
00:18:41,540 --> 00:18:43,560
This keeps the
government, and, as such,


374
00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:47,620
the people, in a
continual state of debt.


375
00:18:47,620 --> 00:18:51,660
All of our income taxes are
paid back to the Federal Reserve


376
00:18:51,660 --> 00:18:53,410
to pay off the debt
that the government


377
00:18:53,410 --> 00:18:58,110
incurs when it borrows money
from the Federal Reserve Bank.


378
00:18:58,110 --> 00:19:00,710
This is all a matter
of public record,


379
00:19:00,710 --> 00:19:04,260
and easily verifiable
should you care to look.


380
00:19:04,260 --> 00:19:06,140
The Founding Fathers
of America were


381
00:19:06,140 --> 00:19:08,830
well aware of the
perils of central banks,


382
00:19:08,830 --> 00:19:11,110
and sought to prevent them.


383
00:19:11,110 --> 00:19:14,940
Several central banks were
set up but then removed.


384
00:19:14,940 --> 00:19:18,390
But the ruthless and powerful
bankers-- the Rockefellers,


385
00:19:18,390 --> 00:19:21,560
the Morgans, the Walburgs,
the Rothschilds--


386
00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:23,660
were determined to set
up a central banking


387
00:19:23,660 --> 00:19:27,010
system in America at any cost.


388
00:19:27,010 --> 00:19:31,520
In the early 1920s, JP Morgan,
one of the most influential


389
00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:35,070
bankers of his day, caused
massive panic in the markets


390
00:19:35,070 --> 00:19:38,530
by spreading rumors
that many private banks


391
00:19:38,530 --> 00:19:39,950
were about to go bankrupt.


392
00:19:39,950 --> 00:19:42,670
This caused widespread panic.


393
00:19:42,670 --> 00:19:46,090
Everyone started withdrawing
their deposits en masse,


394
00:19:46,090 --> 00:19:49,090
and the banks had to call
in all of their loans


395
00:19:49,090 --> 00:19:50,450
to try and survive.


396
00:19:50,450 --> 00:19:52,680
The hysteria
destroyed the markets,


397
00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:56,750
and the banking elites,
having caused the panic,


398
00:19:56,750 --> 00:19:59,420
used it to influence
politicians and the public


399
00:19:59,420 --> 00:20:04,620
that a central bank would
bring stability to the system.


400
00:20:04,620 --> 00:20:08,780
At a secret meeting in
1910 at the estate of JP


401
00:20:08,780 --> 00:20:11,590
Morgan on Jekyll
Island, the bankers


402
00:20:11,590 --> 00:20:14,130
wrote the Federal Reserve Act.


403
00:20:14,130 --> 00:20:16,810
They then gave their
considerable financial and


404
00:20:16,810 --> 00:20:20,580
political support to Woodrow
Wilson on the condition


405
00:20:20,580 --> 00:20:23,610
he would support
the bill if elected.


406
00:20:23,610 --> 00:20:27,730
In 1913, Woodrow Wilson
signed the bill into law.


407
00:20:27,730 --> 00:20:29,150
He later wrote, in regret.


408
00:20:57,150 --> 00:20:59,860
The bankers made immediate
moves to increase


409
00:20:59,860 --> 00:21:02,780
and consolidate their power.


410
00:21:02,780 --> 00:21:07,430
From 1921 to 1929,
the banks drastically


411
00:21:07,430 --> 00:21:11,420
increased the money supply,
making millions of loans.


412
00:21:11,420 --> 00:21:16,760
Then, in October, 1929, having
quietly exited the markets,


413
00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,740
they started calling in
those loans en masse.


414
00:21:19,740 --> 00:21:24,500
The hysteria that followed
led to the Great Depression.


415
00:21:24,500 --> 00:21:26,580
The conspiring
bankers bought out


416
00:21:26,580 --> 00:21:28,960
rival banks and
massive corporations


417
00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:30,590
for pennies on the dollar.


418
00:21:30,590 --> 00:21:34,280
Their position of power and
influence had become absolute.


419
00:21:40,350 --> 00:21:43,690
We get almost all of our
information from the media.


420
00:21:43,690 --> 00:21:46,960
If we base our opinions on
bad or biased information,


421
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:49,510
then everything we
believe is suspect.


422
00:21:49,510 --> 00:21:53,290
Political debate today is kept
within very narrow boundaries


423
00:21:53,290 --> 00:21:57,420
so the media can present both
sides of these narrow positions


424
00:21:57,420 --> 00:21:59,760
and give the impression
we have a free press.


425
00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,160
However, to talk about a
left or right wing press


426
00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,390
is to miss a very
important point.


427
00:22:05,390 --> 00:22:08,020
Whatever message big
business wants carried


428
00:22:08,020 --> 00:22:10,590
with whatever slant,
the media will


429
00:22:10,590 --> 00:22:14,430
carry that story unfailingly.


430
00:22:14,430 --> 00:22:17,070
NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, the title
is actually borrowed from a book


431
00:22:17,070 --> 00:22:22,390
by Walter Lippmann written
back around 1921 in which he


432
00:22:22,390 --> 00:22:25,340
described what he called
"the manufacture of consent"


433
00:22:25,340 --> 00:22:29,710
as "a revolution" in the
"practice of democracy."


434
00:22:29,710 --> 00:22:33,310
What it amounts to is
a technique of control.


435
00:22:33,310 --> 00:22:38,050
And he said this was useful and
necessary because "the common


436
00:22:38,050 --> 00:22:40,450
interests"-- the general
concerns of all people--


437
00:22:40,450 --> 00:22:42,350
"elude the public.


438
00:22:42,350 --> 00:22:44,460
The public just isn't
up to dealing with them.


439
00:22:44,460 --> 00:22:46,360
And they have to be
the domain of what he


440
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:50,120
called "a specialized class."


441
00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:53,160
Notice that that's the
opposite of the standard view


442
00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:55,410
about democracy.


443
00:22:55,410 --> 00:22:56,900
There's a version
of this expressed


444
00:22:56,900 --> 00:23:01,680
by the highly respected
moralist and theologian Reinhold


445
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,950
Niebuhr, who was
very influential


446
00:23:04,950 --> 00:23:07,340
on contemporary policymakers.


447
00:23:07,340 --> 00:23:12,330
His view was that rationality
belongs to the cool observer.


448
00:23:12,330 --> 00:23:15,700
But because of the stupidity
of the average man,


449
00:23:15,700 --> 00:23:18,920
he follows not
reason, but faith.


450
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:25,380
And this naive faith
requires necessary illusion.


451
00:23:25,380 --> 00:23:29,070
The point is that in a military
state or a feudal state,


452
00:23:29,070 --> 00:23:32,100
or what you would nowadays
call a totalitarian state,


453
00:23:32,100 --> 00:23:35,760
it doesn't much matter what
people think because you've


454
00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,170
got a bludgeon over
their head and you


455
00:23:38,170 --> 00:23:40,530
can control what they do.


456
00:23:40,530 --> 00:23:43,220
But when the state loses
the bludgeon, when you can't


457
00:23:43,220 --> 00:23:46,740
control by force, and when
the voice of the people


458
00:23:46,740 --> 00:23:49,950
can be heard, you
have this problem.


459
00:23:49,950 --> 00:23:52,890
It may make people so
curious and so arrogant


460
00:23:52,890 --> 00:23:54,280
that they don't
have the humility


461
00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,210
to submit to a civil rule.


462
00:23:56,210 --> 00:24:00,890
And therefore, you have to
control what people think.


463
00:24:00,890 --> 00:24:04,930
NARRATOR: 100 years ago, Sigmund
Freud, famous for giving us


464
00:24:04,930 --> 00:24:07,470
the science of
psychological analysis,


465
00:24:07,470 --> 00:24:11,350
suggested that's the ideal
of individual freedom,


466
00:24:11,350 --> 00:24:15,620
central to the idea of
democracy, was impossible.


467
00:24:15,620 --> 00:24:19,020
He said our hidden desires
were too dangerous.


468
00:24:19,020 --> 00:24:21,920
Human beings could never
be allowed to fully express


469
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,210
themselves, that we must
always be controlled and would,


470
00:24:25,210 --> 00:24:28,260
thus, always be discontent.


471
00:24:28,260 --> 00:24:33,120
Sigmund Freud's American
nephew was Edward Bernays.


472
00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:36,370
Beryans is almost
completely unknown today,


473
00:24:36,370 --> 00:24:39,330
but his influence on
society is possibly


474
00:24:39,330 --> 00:24:41,790
much greater than Freud.


475
00:24:41,790 --> 00:24:45,670
Bernays took the new science
developed by his famous uncle


476
00:24:45,670 --> 00:24:48,830
and used it to
manipulate the masses.


477
00:24:48,830 --> 00:24:51,980
Bernays is the man who
invented the profession


478
00:24:51,980 --> 00:24:56,280
the term "public relations."


479
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,780
He worked for most of
the major corporations,


480
00:24:58,780 --> 00:25:03,170
and advised politicians on how
to win favor with the public.


481
00:25:03,170 --> 00:25:06,510
Like Freud, Bernays was
convinced that humans were


482
00:25:06,510 --> 00:25:09,040
driven by irrational forces.


483
00:25:09,040 --> 00:25:11,710
But by stimulating
our inner desires


484
00:25:11,710 --> 00:25:14,820
and then sating them
with consumer products,


485
00:25:14,820 --> 00:25:18,710
he created a new way to
manage the irrational behavior


486
00:25:18,710 --> 00:25:20,490
of the masses.


487
00:25:20,490 --> 00:25:24,120
What Eddie got from
Freud was indeed this idea


488
00:25:24,120 --> 00:25:28,680
that there is a lot more going
on in human decision-making--


489
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:31,230
now only among individuals,
but even more importantly


490
00:25:31,230 --> 00:25:35,180
among groups-- than this
idea that information


491
00:25:35,180 --> 00:25:37,560
drives behavior.


492
00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:41,400
And so Eddie began to formulate
this idea that you had too


493
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:42,890
look at things that
would play to people's


494
00:25:42,890 --> 00:25:45,120
irrational emotions.


495
00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:47,520
And, you see, that
moved Eddie immediately


496
00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,780
into a different category
from other people in his field


497
00:25:50,780 --> 00:25:54,160
and most government officials
and managers of the day who


498
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:55,870
thought, if you just
hit people with all


499
00:25:55,870 --> 00:25:58,660
of this factual information,
they would look at that


500
00:25:58,660 --> 00:26:00,320
and say, oh, of course.


501
00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:02,190
There's a psychology of dress.


502
00:26:02,190 --> 00:26:03,560
Have you ever thought about it?


503
00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,310
How it can express
your character?


504
00:26:07,310 --> 00:26:10,090
You all have interesting
characters, but some of them


505
00:26:10,090 --> 00:26:11,550
are all hidden.


506
00:26:11,550 --> 00:26:14,700
I wonder why you all want
to dress always the same,


507
00:26:14,700 --> 00:26:17,530
with the same hats
and the same coats.


508
00:26:17,530 --> 00:26:20,160
I'm sure all of you are
interesting and have


509
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:22,130
wonderful things about you.


510
00:26:22,130 --> 00:26:25,140
But looking at
you in the street,


511
00:26:25,140 --> 00:26:27,990
you all look so much the same.


512
00:26:27,990 --> 00:26:29,490
And that's why
I'm talking to you


513
00:26:29,490 --> 00:26:31,930
about the psychology of dress.


514
00:26:31,930 --> 00:26:35,890
Try and express yourselves
better in your dress.


515
00:26:35,890 --> 00:26:38,740
He had a home in
the corner suite


516
00:26:38,740 --> 00:26:40,380
of the Sherry Netherland Hotel.


517
00:26:40,380 --> 00:26:43,490
And here's this wonderful suite
with all these windows looking


518
00:26:43,490 --> 00:26:45,630
out on the Central Park
and across at the Plaza


519
00:26:45,630 --> 00:26:47,390
and on the square.


520
00:26:47,390 --> 00:26:51,650
And he would use this
place to hold a soiree.


521
00:26:51,650 --> 00:26:53,190
The mayor would come.


522
00:26:53,190 --> 00:26:54,840
All the media
leaders would come--


523
00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:56,870
the political leaders,
the business leaders,


524
00:26:56,870 --> 00:26:58,080
the people in the arts.


525
00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:00,030
I mean, it was a who's who.


526
00:27:00,030 --> 00:27:03,870
People wanted to know Eddie
Bernays, because, you know, he


527
00:27:03,870 --> 00:27:08,270
himself became sort of a famous
man, sort of a magician who


528
00:27:08,270 --> 00:27:10,200
could make these things happen.


529
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:15,020
Eddie Bernays saw the
way to sell product


530
00:27:15,020 --> 00:27:18,340
was not to sell it to your
intellect-- that you ought


531
00:27:18,340 --> 00:27:23,200
to buy an automobile-- but that
you will feel better about it


532
00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:24,970
if you have this automobile.


533
00:27:24,970 --> 00:27:28,120
I think he originated that
idea-- that they weren't just


534
00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:30,370
purchasing something,
but they were


535
00:27:30,370 --> 00:27:34,050
engaging themselves
emotionally or personally


536
00:27:34,050 --> 00:27:35,860
in the product or service.


537
00:27:35,860 --> 00:27:40,720
So it's not you think you
need a new piece of clothing,


538
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,520
but you'll feel better
with the piece of clothing.


539
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,220
That was his contribution
in a very real sense.


540
00:27:46,220 --> 00:27:47,770
We see it all over
the place today,


541
00:27:47,770 --> 00:27:51,110
but I think he originated the
idea of the emotional connect


542
00:27:51,110 --> 00:27:53,370
to a product or service.


543
00:27:53,370 --> 00:27:57,470
Democracy to my father
was a wonderful concept.


544
00:27:57,470 --> 00:27:59,680
But I don't think he
felt that of those


545
00:27:59,680 --> 00:28:04,640
publics out there had
reliable judgment.


546
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:09,860
And that they very easily
might vote for the wrong man


547
00:28:09,860 --> 00:28:12,530
or want the wrong
thing, so that they


548
00:28:12,530 --> 00:28:14,950
had to be guided from above.


549
00:28:14,950 --> 00:28:20,270
You appeal to their desires and
their unrecognized longings--


550
00:28:20,270 --> 00:28:23,360
that sort of thing.


551
00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:29,500
You can tap into their deepest
desires or their deepest fears


552
00:28:29,500 --> 00:28:32,910
and use that to
your own purposes.


553
00:28:32,910 --> 00:28:34,750
NARRATOR: Many
influential thinkers


554
00:28:34,750 --> 00:28:38,230
came to believe that the
public were incapable of making


555
00:28:38,230 --> 00:28:41,280
rational decisions,
and that, as such,


556
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,480
democracy could never work.


557
00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:48,110
Walter Lippmann, one of the most
influential political writers


558
00:28:48,110 --> 00:28:52,330
at that time, argued that
if people were, in reality,


559
00:28:52,330 --> 00:28:56,250
motivated by irrational
forces, then what was needed


560
00:28:56,250 --> 00:28:59,480
was control by the
elites to manage what he


561
00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:02,190
called "the bewildered herd."


562
00:29:02,190 --> 00:29:04,290
And this could be
accomplished by using


563
00:29:04,290 --> 00:29:07,490
psychological techniques
to control the unconscious


564
00:29:07,490 --> 00:29:10,960
desires of the masses.


565
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:13,570
And so here you have
Walter Lippmann, probably


566
00:29:13,570 --> 00:29:17,390
the most influential political
thinker in the United States,


567
00:29:17,390 --> 00:29:20,370
who is essentially saying
that the basic mechanism


568
00:29:20,370 --> 00:29:25,290
of the mass mind is unreason,
is irrationality, is anomality.


569
00:29:25,290 --> 00:29:29,320
He believes that the mob in the
street-- which is how he sees


570
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,610
ordinary people-- are people who
are driven not by their minds,


571
00:29:32,610 --> 00:29:34,500
but by their spinal cords.


572
00:29:34,500 --> 00:29:39,200
The notion of animal drives,
unconscious instinctual


573
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:42,710
drives lurking beneath the
surface of civilization.


574
00:29:42,710 --> 00:29:46,570
And so they started looking
towards psychological science


575
00:29:46,570 --> 00:29:50,870
as a way of understanding
the mechanisms by which


576
00:29:50,870 --> 00:29:54,430
the popular mind
works, specifically


577
00:29:54,430 --> 00:29:58,570
with the goal of figuring
out how to understand


578
00:29:58,570 --> 00:30:03,730
how to apply those mechanisms to
strategies for social control.


579
00:30:03,730 --> 00:30:06,890
Democracy at its heart
was about changing


580
00:30:06,890 --> 00:30:10,980
the relations of power that had
governed the world for so long.


581
00:30:10,980 --> 00:30:13,020
And Bernays'
concept of democracy


582
00:30:13,020 --> 00:30:15,830
was one of maintaining
the relations of power,


583
00:30:15,830 --> 00:30:18,320
even if it meant that
one needed to sort


584
00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:21,670
of stimulate the psychological
lives of the public.


585
00:30:21,670 --> 00:30:26,050
So democracy is reduced
from something which assumes


586
00:30:26,050 --> 00:30:29,450
an active citizenry to
the idea of the public


587
00:30:29,450 --> 00:30:31,890
as passive consumers--


588
00:30:31,890 --> 00:30:34,360
Ohh.


589
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:38,000
---driven primarily by
instinctual or unconscious


590
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:40,440
desires, and that,
if you can, in fact,


591
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,740
trigger those needs
and desires, you can


592
00:30:42,740 --> 00:30:44,880
get what you want from them.


593
00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:46,890
NARRATOR: The
corporations understood


594
00:30:46,890 --> 00:30:49,220
that to change our
consumer culture


595
00:30:49,220 --> 00:30:52,710
from needs-based to
desire-based purchasing,


596
00:30:52,710 --> 00:30:56,860
people must be trained to want
new things even before the old


597
00:30:56,860 --> 00:30:58,300
had been consumed.


598
00:30:58,300 --> 00:31:01,540
Bernays really is the guy
within the United States,


599
00:31:01,540 --> 00:31:05,830
more than anybody else, who
sort of brings to the table


600
00:31:05,830 --> 00:31:09,210
psychological theory
as something that


601
00:31:09,210 --> 00:31:13,990
is an essential part of how--
from the corporate side--


602
00:31:13,990 --> 00:31:17,800
of how we are going to
appeal to the masses.


603
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:20,900
He showed the corporations how
they could make people want


604
00:31:20,900 --> 00:31:23,770
things they did not
mean by linking products


605
00:31:23,770 --> 00:31:27,460
to their unconscious
desires, and the mass media


606
00:31:27,460 --> 00:31:30,560
would be the key.


607
00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:32,820
The media and marketing
men spend billions


608
00:31:32,820 --> 00:31:34,220
of dollars in research.


609
00:31:34,220 --> 00:31:36,470
They have developed
an entire science


610
00:31:36,470 --> 00:31:39,870
based on the very best
psychology that knows exactly


611
00:31:39,870 --> 00:31:42,570
which one of our buttons
to press to make us swallow


612
00:31:42,570 --> 00:31:45,550
an idea or buy a product.


613
00:31:45,550 --> 00:31:48,080
And they are not just
selling us laundry detergent.


614
00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:52,340
They sell us everything from
plastic gadgets to warfare.


615
00:31:52,340 --> 00:31:54,690
If we are to make
decisions about the future


616
00:31:54,690 --> 00:31:57,340
of our society, the single
most important thing


617
00:31:57,340 --> 00:31:59,220
we need it's the truth.


618
00:32:06,870 --> 00:32:09,760
So I would like us to imagine
a nightmare scenario--


619
00:32:09,760 --> 00:32:14,180
a powerful group of businessmen
with access to the White House,


620
00:32:14,180 --> 00:32:18,350
who control the media and who
make obscene amounts of money


621
00:32:18,350 --> 00:32:20,390
whenever there is war.


622
00:32:20,390 --> 00:32:22,200
In the councils
of government, we


623
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:24,680
must guard against
the acquisition


624
00:32:24,680 --> 00:32:28,360
of unwarranted influence,
whether sought or unsought,


625
00:32:28,360 --> 00:32:30,740
by the military
industrial complex.


626
00:32:30,740 --> 00:32:33,290
President Eisenhower's
concern about


627
00:32:33,290 --> 00:32:36,450
the military industrial
complex-- his words have,


628
00:32:36,450 --> 00:32:38,360
unfortunately, come true.


629
00:32:38,360 --> 00:32:40,320
He was worried
that priorities are


630
00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:44,130
set by what benefits
corporations as opposed to what


631
00:32:44,130 --> 00:32:45,460
benefits the country.


632
00:32:45,460 --> 00:32:47,920
MAN: Lockheed Martin
and McDonnell Douglas


633
00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:50,980
and Boeing-- throughout
America, there are factories,


634
00:32:50,980 --> 00:32:54,490
there are corporations that
are involved on a daily basis.


635
00:32:54,490 --> 00:32:57,310
We have a snapshot in
time after September 11


636
00:32:57,310 --> 00:33:00,710
where at least 71 companies
that we were able to identify


637
00:33:00,710 --> 00:33:05,660
are starting to get contracts
to go in Afghanistan and Iraq.


638
00:33:05,660 --> 00:33:09,380
All of the top 10 companies
had former US officials


639
00:33:09,380 --> 00:33:12,200
who had worked in the Pentagon
or other parts of the US


640
00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:13,760
Government on the
boards of directors.


641
00:33:18,150 --> 00:33:21,560
The Carlyle Group
plays in industries


642
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:25,360
and in an area that are
heavily influenced by politics.


643
00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:28,410
My understanding is they are
now the 11th or 12th largest


644
00:33:28,410 --> 00:33:30,930
defense contractor--
a multi-billion dollar


645
00:33:30,930 --> 00:33:36,620
annual enterprise with an almost
obscenely high profit margin.


646
00:33:36,620 --> 00:33:38,770
They hire defense
experts like Frank


647
00:33:38,770 --> 00:33:40,610
Carlucci are Frank Finelli.


648
00:33:40,610 --> 00:33:42,970
They hire politicians
like George


649
00:33:42,970 --> 00:33:45,120
Bush Senior or James Baker III.


650
00:33:45,120 --> 00:33:47,390
And the iron triangle
is, in some ways,


651
00:33:47,390 --> 00:33:49,420
a uniquely American phenomenon.


652
00:33:49,420 --> 00:33:54,680
It's the confluence of the
military, big business,


653
00:33:54,680 --> 00:33:56,110
and politics.


654
00:33:56,110 --> 00:33:59,330
I will name, as the next
Secretary of Defense,


655
00:33:59,330 --> 00:34:01,020
the best-qualified
man in America


656
00:34:01,020 --> 00:34:03,960
to carry on Cap's
work, Frank Carlucci.


657
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:05,640
When Frank Carlucci
came on board,


658
00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:08,240
he was coming straight
from the Pentagon


659
00:34:08,240 --> 00:34:09,520
as Secretary of Defense.


660
00:34:09,520 --> 00:34:12,790
A year, two years
later, the Gulf War hit.


661
00:34:12,790 --> 00:34:14,820
And everybody knows
that wartime is


662
00:34:14,820 --> 00:34:16,480
boom time for the
defense industry,


663
00:34:16,480 --> 00:34:18,380
and Carlyle made a ton of money.


664
00:34:18,380 --> 00:34:19,660
They did very, very well.


665
00:34:19,660 --> 00:34:20,720
They really cleaned up.


666
00:34:20,720 --> 00:34:22,620
After that, Carlyle said, hey.


667
00:34:22,620 --> 00:34:25,740
You know, having these
politicians on board


668
00:34:25,740 --> 00:34:26,710
is pretty great.


669
00:34:26,710 --> 00:34:29,010
I mean, they know things
that nobody else knows.


670
00:34:29,010 --> 00:34:34,340
They are able to predict trends
in global markets, predict


671
00:34:34,340 --> 00:34:40,240
trends in political shifts,
and, in some ways-- and this


672
00:34:40,240 --> 00:34:42,400
is sort of most insidious part.


673
00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,200
And if you want to be cynical
about the Carlyle Group,


674
00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:46,400
you have to be concerned
about their ability


675
00:34:46,400 --> 00:34:50,730
to influence these trends
and actually affect change


676
00:34:50,730 --> 00:34:53,260
in government policy
which would positively


677
00:34:53,260 --> 00:34:54,970
affect their investments.


678
00:34:54,970 --> 00:34:58,990
If you have an
organization that


679
00:34:58,990 --> 00:35:02,040
is able to operate
behind the scenes


680
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:07,970
without real accountability,
and that same organization has


681
00:35:07,970 --> 00:35:12,970
the ability to ruin political
careers for people who are


682
00:35:12,970 --> 00:35:16,510
a little bit too inquisitive
or a little bit too honest,


683
00:35:16,510 --> 00:35:22,170
or to shape public
thinking, then we


684
00:35:22,170 --> 00:35:28,450
have the means for a
kind of control globally


685
00:35:28,450 --> 00:35:32,780
that is probably unprecedented.


686
00:35:32,780 --> 00:35:34,380
So we have this problem here.


687
00:35:34,380 --> 00:35:37,540
This is a mysterious,
immensely powerful company


688
00:35:37,540 --> 00:35:40,290
with virtually no scrutiny.


689
00:35:40,290 --> 00:35:42,120
ROBERT BYRD: On
this February day,


690
00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:46,050
as this nation stands
at the brink of battle,


691
00:35:46,050 --> 00:35:50,150
every American, on some
level, must be contemplating


692
00:35:50,150 --> 00:35:52,560
the horrors of war.


693
00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:58,690
And yet, this chamber
is, for the most part,


694
00:35:58,690 --> 00:36:00,780
dreadfully SILENT.


695
00:36:00,780 --> 00:36:04,500
We have a Congress that
failed, in every way,


696
00:36:04,500 --> 00:36:08,570
to ask the right questions, to
hold the President to account.


697
00:36:08,570 --> 00:36:10,440
Our Congress failed
us miserably.


698
00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:12,260
And that's because
many in Congress


699
00:36:12,260 --> 00:36:14,120
are beholden to the
military industrial complex.


700
00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:16,270
When we're speaking of the
United States of America


701
00:36:16,270 --> 00:36:18,490
and the concept of
democratic representation,


702
00:36:18,490 --> 00:36:20,500
I think one of the
more important aspects


703
00:36:20,500 --> 00:36:23,760
is the concept of informed
consent of the people.


704
00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:26,080
If you're going to go to
war, you lay out the reasons


705
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:29,170
for the war, the
justifications for the war,


706
00:36:29,170 --> 00:36:33,130
and then you subject it to
debate, dialogue, discussion


707
00:36:33,130 --> 00:36:35,180
amongst the elected
representatives of the people,


708
00:36:35,180 --> 00:36:36,740
and, indeed, the
people themselves.


709
00:36:36,740 --> 00:36:39,430
The defense budget is
3/4 of a trillion dollars.


710
00:36:39,430 --> 00:36:42,960
Profits went up last
year well over 25%.


711
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:45,700
I guarantee you when war
becomes that profitable,


712
00:36:45,700 --> 00:36:47,140
you're going to see more of it.


713
00:36:47,140 --> 00:36:50,840
We have a process that
has a seamlessness where


714
00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:54,390
the corporate interests
that stand to benefit


715
00:36:54,390 --> 00:36:57,710
are so intertwined
and interwoven


716
00:36:57,710 --> 00:37:00,780
with the political forces
that the financial elites


717
00:37:00,780 --> 00:37:03,770
and the political elites
have become the same people.


718
00:37:03,770 --> 00:37:05,620
The attack came
without warning.


719
00:37:05,620 --> 00:37:07,680
And according to a
US Government source,


720
00:37:07,680 --> 00:37:10,300
told CBS News that
it has Middle East


721
00:37:10,300 --> 00:37:12,230
terrorism written all over it.


722
00:37:12,230 --> 00:37:14,240
REPORTER (ON TV): The attack
in Oklahoma City appears


723
00:37:14,240 --> 00:37:15,940
to have a familiar mark.


724
00:37:15,940 --> 00:37:17,790
This was done with
the attempt to inflict


725
00:37:17,790 --> 00:37:19,810
as many casualties as possible.


726
00:37:19,810 --> 00:37:21,610
And that is a Middle
Eastern trait.


727
00:37:21,610 --> 00:37:23,880
REPORTER (ON TV): The fact that
it was such a powerful bomb


728
00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:26,650
in Oklahoma City immediately
drew investigators


729
00:37:26,650 --> 00:37:29,090
to consider deadly
parallels that all


730
00:37:29,090 --> 00:37:30,560
have roots in the Middle East.


731
00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:34,740
ABC News has learned that the
FBI has asked the US Military


732
00:37:34,740 --> 00:37:37,360
to provide up to
10 Arabic speakers


733
00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:39,030
to help in the investigation.


734
00:37:39,030 --> 00:37:42,920
The so-called independent
media, in a liberal society


735
00:37:42,920 --> 00:37:45,410
like this, in
effect, are so lazy


736
00:37:45,410 --> 00:37:47,550
and are controlled
by interests that


737
00:37:47,550 --> 00:37:50,660
are commercial and
political at the same time


738
00:37:50,660 --> 00:37:53,000
that there is no
investigative reporting.


739
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:57,250
It's just basically repeating
the line of the government--


740
00:37:57,250 --> 00:38:00,240
Only eight day ago, I concluded
a broadcast on the World Trade


741
00:38:00,240 --> 00:38:03,490
Center bombing by telling you
what senior US law enforcement


742
00:38:03,490 --> 00:38:07,530
officials were telling us-- that
the threat of Muslim extremists


743
00:38:07,530 --> 00:38:09,430
operating within
the United States


744
00:38:09,430 --> 00:38:11,970
is an ongoing danger,
something we'll


745
00:38:11,970 --> 00:38:14,230
have to live with from now on.


746
00:38:14,230 --> 00:38:16,970
---and repeating the lines of
the people who have the most


747
00:38:16,970 --> 00:38:23,770
influence, for whom Islam is
a useful foreign demon to turn


748
00:38:23,770 --> 00:38:27,120
attention away from the
inequities and problems


749
00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:28,710
in our own society.


750
00:38:28,710 --> 00:38:34,400
So as a result, the
human side of the Islamic


751
00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:39,010
and especially Arabic world,
are rarely to be found.


752
00:38:39,010 --> 00:38:42,780
And the net result is this
vacancy, on the one hand,


753
00:38:42,780 --> 00:38:49,200
and these easy, almost automatic
images of terror and violence.


754
00:38:49,200 --> 00:38:50,810
The situation in
the popular media


755
00:38:50,810 --> 00:38:55,520
is basically that Muslims
are really two things-- one,


756
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:58,380
they are villains of one
sort, villains and fanatics.


757
00:38:58,380 --> 00:39:05,090
And B, many films end up
with huge numbers of bodies,


758
00:39:05,090 --> 00:39:07,120
Muslim bodies, strewn all
over the place-- the result


759
00:39:07,120 --> 00:39:11,410
of Arnold Schwarzenegger or
Demi Moore-- Chuck Norris.


760
00:39:11,410 --> 00:39:13,250
Lots of films about
guerrillas going in


761
00:39:13,250 --> 00:39:15,690
to kill Muslim terrorists.


762
00:39:15,690 --> 00:39:20,000
So the idea of Islam is
something to be stamped out


763
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:22,430
it's easy to attract attention,
and certainly the media's


764
00:39:22,430 --> 00:39:24,700
attention, for some of
the political reasons


765
00:39:24,700 --> 00:39:25,530
that are obvious.


766
00:39:25,530 --> 00:39:27,630
I mean, to discredit the Arabs,
to make them seem like a threat


767
00:39:27,630 --> 00:39:33,330
to the West, to
keep the idea around


768
00:39:33,330 --> 00:39:37,600
at the end of the Cold War
that there are foreign devils.


769
00:39:37,600 --> 00:39:40,770
Otherwise, what are we doing
with this gigantic military?


770
00:39:40,770 --> 00:39:43,790
The war with Iraq gives
us a snapshot in time


771
00:39:43,790 --> 00:39:45,400
where we can see
the effects of all


772
00:39:45,400 --> 00:39:49,140
of these powerful
influences coming together.


773
00:39:49,140 --> 00:39:51,440
They have weapons
of mass destruction.


774
00:39:51,440 --> 00:39:53,040
That is what this war was about.


775
00:39:53,040 --> 00:39:55,280
And Saddam Hussein possesses
biological and chemical


776
00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:55,980
weapons.


777
00:39:55,980 --> 00:39:57,620
It's a fact that there
are weapons there.


778
00:39:57,620 --> 00:39:58,720
You've heard the
President say it


779
00:39:58,720 --> 00:40:00,070
repeatedly-- that
he has chemical


780
00:40:00,070 --> 00:40:01,570
and biological weapons.


781
00:40:01,570 --> 00:40:03,480
REPORTER (ON TV): With the
drumbeat for an attack on Iraq


782
00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:05,240
increasing, the
Bush Administration


783
00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:07,850
may finally have the ammunition
they've been looking for.


784
00:40:07,850 --> 00:40:08,770
September 11.


785
00:40:08,770 --> 00:40:09,930
September 11.


786
00:40:09,930 --> 00:40:11,020
September 11.


787
00:40:11,020 --> 00:40:12,040
September 11.


788
00:40:12,040 --> 00:40:13,120
September 11.


789
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:14,170
Dangerous world.


790
00:40:14,170 --> 00:40:15,400
A grave new threat.


791
00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:17,460
There is no doubt
that he is amassing


792
00:40:17,460 --> 00:40:20,890
them to use against our
friends, against our allies.


793
00:40:20,890 --> 00:40:23,620
A Hollywood set
designer was brought in


794
00:40:23,620 --> 00:40:29,100
to create a $200,000 backdrop
for official war briefings.


795
00:40:29,100 --> 00:40:33,730
In USA Today and in the major
network coverage and so forth,


796
00:40:33,730 --> 00:40:38,010
you have this very elaborate
computer-generated graphic sort


797
00:40:38,010 --> 00:40:43,920
of coverage of the different
US Air Force and Army planes


798
00:40:43,920 --> 00:40:48,330
and gun ships and helicopters,
and a very snazzy weapons


799
00:40:48,330 --> 00:40:49,420
of all descriptions.


800
00:40:49,420 --> 00:40:50,950
MAN (ON TV): Well,
it's quite amazing.


801
00:40:50,950 --> 00:40:53,940
I've fallen almost in love
with the F-18 Super Hornet,


802
00:40:53,940 --> 00:40:56,220
because it's quite
a versatile plane.


803
00:40:56,220 --> 00:40:59,310
It's not enough for us to be
told to accept this war we're


804
00:40:59,310 --> 00:41:03,330
really encouraged to gain some
kind of vicarious pleasure


805
00:41:03,330 --> 00:41:04,030
from it.


806
00:41:12,910 --> 00:41:16,300
The Pentagon, for many
years now, since Vietnam,


807
00:41:16,300 --> 00:41:20,620
has worked extremely hard
at shaping news and how


808
00:41:20,620 --> 00:41:21,950
the media reports that news.


809
00:41:21,950 --> 00:41:26,720
We train people to say certain
things in a certain way.


810
00:41:26,720 --> 00:41:30,530
Well, a militia group linked
to terror being backed by Iran


811
00:41:30,530 --> 00:41:33,450
and setting up camp
on America's doorstep?


812
00:41:33,450 --> 00:41:34,850
NARRATOR: The
propaganda campaign


813
00:41:34,850 --> 00:41:38,920
waged by the media was so
successful that by 2003,


814
00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:42,050
opinion polls showed that
vast majority of Americans


815
00:41:42,050 --> 00:41:45,390
believed Saddam Hussein
was linked to 9/11.


816
00:41:45,390 --> 00:41:47,360
This claim was false.


817
00:41:47,360 --> 00:41:49,960
The majority believed
he possessed stockpiles


818
00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:51,670
of weapons of mass destruction.


819
00:41:51,670 --> 00:41:54,220
This claim, too, was false.


820
00:41:54,220 --> 00:41:56,940
These claims allowed
the corporate interests


821
00:41:56,940 --> 00:42:00,080
and the administration to
frame the attack on Iraq


822
00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:03,630
as a justifiable
act of self-defense.


823
00:42:03,630 --> 00:42:05,870
Lieutenant Colonel
Karen Kwiatkowski


824
00:42:05,870 --> 00:42:07,200
worked at the Pentagon.


825
00:42:07,200 --> 00:42:10,250
She saw firsthand how the
intelligence was distorted


826
00:42:10,250 --> 00:42:13,440
to win support for the attack.


827
00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:16,270
The information in there are
drawn from fact-- you could


828
00:42:16,270 --> 00:42:18,600
find bits and pieces
of fact throughout--


829
00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:26,500
but framed, articulated, crafted
to convince someone of what?


830
00:42:26,500 --> 00:42:28,160
Well, of things
that weren't true.


831
00:42:28,160 --> 00:42:29,230
Things that weren't true.


832
00:42:29,230 --> 00:42:33,550
9/11, al-Qaeda related
to Saddam Hussein,


833
00:42:33,550 --> 00:42:36,120
possibly some involvement
there-- the very things


834
00:42:36,120 --> 00:42:39,750
that, a year later,
President Bush himself


835
00:42:39,750 --> 00:42:41,990
denies and feigns his surprise.


836
00:42:41,990 --> 00:42:43,710
"I don't know why
everybody thinks that."


837
00:42:43,710 --> 00:42:45,990
We've had no evidence that
Saddam Hussein was involved


838
00:42:45,990 --> 00:42:47,770
with the September the 11th.


839
00:42:47,770 --> 00:42:52,380
Well, I worked in a place where
they concentrated on preparing


840
00:42:52,380 --> 00:42:54,650
this storyline and selling it.


841
00:42:54,650 --> 00:42:58,040
What they're trying
to do is have


842
00:42:58,040 --> 00:43:03,230
an Iraq that is a friend to us,
not an Iraq that is liberated.


843
00:43:03,230 --> 00:43:04,400
This is total bogus.


844
00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:07,420
We never intended to
liberate the Iraqi people.


845
00:43:07,420 --> 00:43:10,060
We intended to liberate
Iraq from Sadaam,


846
00:43:10,060 --> 00:43:13,430
and have a footprint, a
military footprint, there.


847
00:43:13,430 --> 00:43:14,230
And we've done that now.


848
00:43:14,230 --> 00:43:14,960
We have Kuwait.


849
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:17,840
We have Fifth Fleet in Bahrain,
we have a nice base in Qatar,


850
00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:19,920
but it's a little too far south.


851
00:43:19,920 --> 00:43:20,720
And what do we have?


852
00:43:20,720 --> 00:43:23,180
We have four bases in
Iraq-- beautiful bases.


853
00:43:23,180 --> 00:43:24,130
We can hit Syria.


854
00:43:24,130 --> 00:43:25,370
We can hit Iran.


855
00:43:25,370 --> 00:43:26,940
We can keep tabs on Afghanistan.


856
00:43:26,940 --> 00:43:29,920
There's all kinds of things
we can do from those bases.


857
00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:32,520
The larger picture is
being driven by the fact


858
00:43:32,520 --> 00:43:36,470
that we're about to
hit peak oil worldwide,


859
00:43:36,470 --> 00:43:39,390
that there's this sort of
emerging global competition


860
00:43:39,390 --> 00:43:40,990
between US and China.


861
00:43:40,990 --> 00:43:43,220
There's the ongoing
economic rivalries


862
00:43:43,220 --> 00:43:44,260
between us and Europe.


863
00:43:44,260 --> 00:43:48,990
And so southwest Asia becomes
geopolitically a linchpin.


864
00:43:48,990 --> 00:43:52,540
The idea that any of the
motives that brought us in


865
00:43:52,540 --> 00:43:55,980
would have sufficed to get us
in if there was no oil in Iran


866
00:43:55,980 --> 00:43:58,110
does not persuade me.


867
00:43:58,110 --> 00:43:59,650
The pretext--
that is, the excuse


868
00:43:59,650 --> 00:44:02,240
for going in-- in Afghanistan
was about terrorism


869
00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:03,780
and Osama bin Ladin.


870
00:44:03,780 --> 00:44:06,000
In Iraq, it's about
weapons of mass destruction


871
00:44:06,000 --> 00:44:07,380
and Saddam Hussein.


872
00:44:07,380 --> 00:44:09,260
But, in the end, neither
one of those wars


873
00:44:09,260 --> 00:44:12,180
was really about those
people or those regimes.


874
00:44:12,180 --> 00:44:14,060
It was about securing
and solidifying


875
00:44:14,060 --> 00:44:16,670
American control
over these incredibly


876
00:44:16,670 --> 00:44:18,210
important regions of the world.


877
00:44:18,210 --> 00:44:19,460
In this case, I was
saying we've been


878
00:44:19,460 --> 00:44:23,400
lied into this as blatantly
as we were lied into Vietnam.


879
00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:25,100
And I was saying that
a year ago-- that


880
00:44:25,100 --> 00:44:29,590
is, in the fall of 2002--
at a time when we did not


881
00:44:29,590 --> 00:44:32,200
know how much they were
hyping the evidence


882
00:44:32,200 --> 00:44:34,320
or exaggerating the
evidence for WMDs,


883
00:44:34,320 --> 00:44:35,970
for weapons of mass destruction.


884
00:44:35,970 --> 00:44:41,170
To say that, in that world, that
Saddam Hussein, after 10 years


885
00:44:41,170 --> 00:44:45,110
of sanctions in the Gulf
War, was any threat at all


886
00:44:45,110 --> 00:44:46,710
was basically absurd.


887
00:44:46,710 --> 00:44:50,070
What you're saying is Democracy
doesn't matter in America,


888
00:44:50,070 --> 00:44:52,020
that, this nation, the
principles and values


889
00:44:52,020 --> 00:44:55,580
upon which we were built,
simply is irrelevant--


890
00:44:55,580 --> 00:44:57,220
that the president
is a dictator who


891
00:44:57,220 --> 00:45:00,470
can do anything he
or she wants to do,


892
00:45:00,470 --> 00:45:01,830
regardless of the
will of the people.


893
00:45:01,830 --> 00:45:02,530
No.


894
00:45:02,530 --> 00:45:06,880
Informed consent of the people
is a mandatory-- not optional,


895
00:45:06,880 --> 00:45:10,160
not mandatory-- requirement
on how we are governed


896
00:45:10,160 --> 00:45:12,790
and how those whom we
elect to higher office


897
00:45:12,790 --> 00:45:14,510
operate in our name.


898
00:45:14,510 --> 00:45:19,620
They not only want to
repeal, revoke virtually all


899
00:45:19,620 --> 00:45:22,490
of the progressive
reforms of the New Deal


900
00:45:22,490 --> 00:45:24,920
and ever since, and
really bring us back


901
00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:29,380
into an essentially unregulated,
non-unionized country that


902
00:45:29,380 --> 00:45:32,110
existed before the
deal, I think they


903
00:45:32,110 --> 00:45:36,470
want openly to see the
president given the power


904
00:45:36,470 --> 00:45:37,910
that he was delegated.


905
00:45:37,910 --> 00:45:43,040
And it's virtually an open, an
undated blank check by Congress


906
00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:45,810
that simply yields
to the president.


907
00:45:45,810 --> 00:45:48,730
They clearly are trying
to repeal that aspect


908
00:45:48,730 --> 00:45:54,250
of our Constitution, which gives
Congress that authority, which


909
00:45:54,250 --> 00:45:59,180
the Founders wrote in order--
as a result of debate--


910
00:45:59,180 --> 00:46:02,990
in order to limit
our going to war,


911
00:46:02,990 --> 00:46:04,730
to make it harder
to go to war, to put


912
00:46:04,730 --> 00:46:08,770
that in the hands of hundreds
of people instead of one man.


913
00:46:08,770 --> 00:46:12,170
They saw the alternative as
the attribute of monarchy


914
00:46:12,170 --> 00:46:14,160
they most wanted to avoid.


915
00:46:14,160 --> 00:46:17,190
I don't think they take
seriously any merits


916
00:46:17,190 --> 00:46:20,500
or advantages to a country
of a Bill of Rights,


917
00:46:20,500 --> 00:46:23,770
unless it's the
right to bear arms.


918
00:46:23,770 --> 00:46:26,620
But free speech,
free assembly, I


919
00:46:26,620 --> 00:46:28,710
don't think they
respect that at all.


920
00:46:28,710 --> 00:46:32,140
Freedom does not
simply mean rallying


921
00:46:32,140 --> 00:46:33,830
oneself behind the flag, here.


922
00:46:33,830 --> 00:46:34,830
This is a great flag.


923
00:46:34,830 --> 00:46:39,300
But freedom means allowing
the kind of dissent


924
00:46:39,300 --> 00:46:44,650
and vigorous debate and
tolerance of onerous points


925
00:46:44,650 --> 00:46:48,530
of view that people regard as
obnoxious and hateful because


926
00:46:48,530 --> 00:46:50,190
we understand that once
you say, I don't want


927
00:46:50,190 --> 00:46:51,250
to hear that point of view.


928
00:46:51,250 --> 00:46:52,440
You can't say that.


929
00:46:52,440 --> 00:46:55,590
You begin to stifle all
kinds of points of view.


930
00:46:55,590 --> 00:46:58,340
You begin to create a mindset.


931
00:46:58,340 --> 00:47:00,140
Freedom is a very
delicate thing.


932
00:47:00,140 --> 00:47:04,300
It's a very delicate thing
between limiting people's


933
00:47:04,300 --> 00:47:06,940
intellectual growth or not.


934
00:47:06,940 --> 00:47:10,300
And that's why we have to be
vigorous and extremely proud.


935
00:47:10,300 --> 00:47:13,070
This flag means the Constitution
of the United States.


936
00:47:13,070 --> 00:47:15,830
We as Americans should be
very, very proud of that,


937
00:47:15,830 --> 00:47:17,070
and we should do
everything that we


938
00:47:17,070 --> 00:47:23,030
can to fight those people
who, for political reasons,


939
00:47:23,030 --> 00:47:25,550
are trying to limit
basic freedom in America.


940
00:47:25,550 --> 00:47:28,790
It is this kind of
ideology that has grown up


941
00:47:28,790 --> 00:47:32,930
in the wake of the Cold
War, propounded quite openly


942
00:47:32,930 --> 00:47:35,490
by what we are calling
neoconservatives in America


943
00:47:35,490 --> 00:47:39,810
that identifies the United
States as a colossus athwart


944
00:47:39,810 --> 00:47:43,370
the world, a new Rome,
beyond good and evil.


945
00:47:43,370 --> 00:47:44,990
We no longer need friends.


946
00:47:44,990 --> 00:47:48,210
We don't need international law.


947
00:47:48,210 --> 00:47:52,140
Like the old Roman
phrase, "it doesn't


948
00:47:52,140 --> 00:47:55,730
matter whether they love us or
not, so long as they fear us."


949
00:47:55,730 --> 00:47:57,680
Been a born New
Yorker all my life.


950
00:47:57,680 --> 00:47:58,720
I've lived here all my life.


951
00:47:58,720 --> 00:48:02,300
So for me, it was a
powerful personal event.


952
00:48:02,300 --> 00:48:04,980
What I remember, what I
think it taught-- of course


953
00:48:04,980 --> 00:48:09,470
my first reaction was fear,
anger, rage, vengeance.


954
00:48:09,470 --> 00:48:12,980
I think all of us, if we're
human, had that reaction.


955
00:48:12,980 --> 00:48:16,630
The question for all of
us is what we remember


956
00:48:16,630 --> 00:48:18,040
and what we do
with the memories.


957
00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:18,940
What is the lesson?


958
00:48:18,940 --> 00:48:19,910
What does it tell?


959
00:48:19,910 --> 00:48:21,870
What does it teach?


960
00:48:21,870 --> 00:48:26,090
For the President, it teaches
the lesson of the Axis of Evil.


961
00:48:26,090 --> 00:48:29,600
States like these and
their terrorist allies


962
00:48:29,600 --> 00:48:31,970
constitute an Axis of Evil.


963
00:48:31,970 --> 00:48:33,380
It teaches a
lesson that America


964
00:48:33,380 --> 00:48:35,400
has enemies, secret
dangerous enemies


965
00:48:35,400 --> 00:48:36,300
who have to be taken out.


966
00:48:36,300 --> 00:48:39,350
Our enemy is a radical
network of terrorists


967
00:48:39,350 --> 00:48:42,270
and every government
that supports them.


968
00:48:42,270 --> 00:48:44,990
It teaches the lesson
that we can never be weak.


969
00:48:44,990 --> 00:48:46,760
We have to flex our
muscles at every turn.


970
00:48:46,760 --> 00:48:48,550
We will fight
with the full force


971
00:48:48,550 --> 00:48:50,950
and might of the
United States Military.


972
00:48:50,950 --> 00:48:52,600
That's one kind of lesson.


973
00:48:52,600 --> 00:48:55,150
It creates a politics of fear.


974
00:48:55,150 --> 00:48:58,850
The politics of fear that this
administration has deployed


975
00:48:58,850 --> 00:49:00,600
in trying to
respond to terrorism


976
00:49:00,600 --> 00:49:02,340
has itself, in some
ways, been much more


977
00:49:02,340 --> 00:49:04,240
dangers than terrorism itself.


978
00:49:04,240 --> 00:49:05,890
And this administration
has been,


979
00:49:05,890 --> 00:49:08,080
I think, responsible
for inciting


980
00:49:08,080 --> 00:49:11,780
the very terror that
it was the terrorists'


981
00:49:11,780 --> 00:49:13,970
purpose to incite in America.


982
00:49:13,970 --> 00:49:17,160
REPORTER (ON TV): They're
calling it Code Orange Plus.


983
00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:19,770
The Fed's decision to raise
the terror alert to high.


984
00:49:19,770 --> 00:49:21,890
REPORTER (ON TV):
America on high alert,


985
00:49:21,890 --> 00:49:24,490
from biggest cities
to smallest towns.


986
00:49:24,490 --> 00:49:26,240
Red, yellow, orange.
We're afraid.


987
00:49:26,240 --> 00:49:27,940
Be afraid.
What level of fear?


988
00:49:27,940 --> 00:49:31,790
The government can program
that without any justification.


989
00:49:31,790 --> 00:49:32,520
You know?


990
00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:34,490
We have an intelligence
report that terrorists


991
00:49:34,490 --> 00:49:35,730
are about to attack.
Who?


992
00:49:35,730 --> 00:49:36,890
We don't know.
Where?


993
00:49:36,890 --> 00:49:38,290
We don't know.
What?


994
00:49:38,290 --> 00:49:39,160
We don't know.


995
00:49:39,160 --> 00:49:41,030
But you tell us, so
now we're afraid.


996
00:49:41,030 --> 00:49:43,030
A Connecticut man
wrapping his family's


997
00:49:43,030 --> 00:49:45,560
19th century farmhouse
with plastic,


998
00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:46,750
sealing it in duct tape.


999
00:49:46,750 --> 00:49:48,950
States response to terrorism.


1000
00:49:48,950 --> 00:49:53,670
We're too great a nation
to allow the evildoers


1001
00:49:53,670 --> 00:49:55,090
to affect our soul.


1002
00:49:55,090 --> 00:49:57,040
The decision was made
within the administration


1003
00:49:57,040 --> 00:50:01,240
to take this event, to take
the struggle against al-Qaeda,


1004
00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:05,590
and make it into a full-fledged
struggle against good and evil.


1005
00:50:05,590 --> 00:50:10,700
Either you are with us or
you are with the terrorists.


1006
00:50:10,700 --> 00:50:12,110
The important thing
to remember here


1007
00:50:12,110 --> 00:50:14,700
is one didn't have to
put it in these terms.


1008
00:50:14,700 --> 00:50:18,200
One didn't have to say, if
you're not for us, on our side,


1009
00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:19,870
you're on the side
of the terrorists.


1010
00:50:19,870 --> 00:50:21,730
That was not a
necessary response.


1011
00:50:21,730 --> 00:50:23,410
That was a chosen response.


1012
00:50:23,410 --> 00:50:25,800
The more we're afraid, the
more you ask us to give.


1013
00:50:25,800 --> 00:50:29,000
Patriot Act II, enhancements
to the Patriot Act.


1014
00:50:29,000 --> 00:50:30,680
Now the budget's starting
to be bankrupted,


1015
00:50:30,680 --> 00:50:34,000
billions flowing out of this
country into a war on terror.


1016
00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:35,100
More defense expenditures.


1017
00:50:35,100 --> 00:50:36,840
And therefore,
I've asked Congress


1018
00:50:36,840 --> 00:50:40,480
for a one-year increase of
more than $48 million dollars


1019
00:50:40,480 --> 00:50:43,060
for national defense--
the largest increase


1020
00:50:43,060 --> 00:50:44,650
in a generation.


1021
00:50:44,650 --> 00:50:48,790
Perpetual war, the
loss of civil liberties,


1022
00:50:48,790 --> 00:50:50,740
uh, the lack of
trust in government


1023
00:50:50,740 --> 00:50:53,880
because they don't tell
the truth-- these are


1024
00:50:53,880 --> 00:50:56,330
outrageous and unpleasant
political developments,


1025
00:50:56,330 --> 00:51:00,480
but they don't necessarily spell
the end of the United States.


1026
00:51:00,480 --> 00:51:02,290
Financial bankruptcy does.


1027
00:51:02,290 --> 00:51:05,660
Things that can't
go on forever don't.


1028
00:51:05,660 --> 00:51:07,040
What we're talking
about right now


1029
00:51:07,040 --> 00:51:10,640
is the rigged American
economy can't go on forever,


1030
00:51:10,640 --> 00:51:12,830
and it's not rocket
science to say say.


1031
00:51:12,830 --> 00:51:14,900
One war after another
after another,


1032
00:51:14,900 --> 00:51:16,720
we become a warfare state.


1033
00:51:16,720 --> 00:51:20,750
That is, the system is
set up to go to war.


1034
00:51:20,750 --> 00:51:21,950
We're going to find wars.


1035
00:51:21,950 --> 00:51:24,720
We've already had
wars-- two major wars,


1036
00:51:24,720 --> 00:51:26,090
Iraq and Afghanistan.


1037
00:51:26,090 --> 00:51:31,400
I think the people most without
fear on September 12 in America


1038
00:51:31,400 --> 00:51:33,450
were those working
at Ground Zero.


1039
00:51:33,450 --> 00:51:35,330
They were in the greatest
danger, actually.


1040
00:51:35,330 --> 00:51:36,810
But because they
were active, they


1041
00:51:36,810 --> 00:51:40,360
were engaged-- the firemen
and the medical officials


1042
00:51:40,360 --> 00:51:43,980
and the cops who were working
there first to find victims,


1043
00:51:43,980 --> 00:51:46,980
then to find remains
and clear the site.


1044
00:51:46,980 --> 00:51:48,450
They had a civic task.


1045
00:51:48,450 --> 00:51:51,290
They were engaged, and they
weren't afraid of anything.


1046
00:51:51,290 --> 00:51:54,310
American citizens after
9/11 said to the President,


1047
00:51:54,310 --> 00:51:55,440
what can we do?


1048
00:51:55,440 --> 00:51:59,830
What can we do to become engaged
and take some responsibility?


1049
00:51:59,830 --> 00:52:03,220
President Bush unfortunately
said, go shopping.


1050
00:52:03,220 --> 00:52:04,160
Go back to the mall.


1051
00:52:04,160 --> 00:52:05,410
Go back to your normal lives.


1052
00:52:05,410 --> 00:52:07,780
We'll take care of it.


1053
00:52:07,780 --> 00:52:11,600
Spectatorship is an
invitation to fear.


1054
00:52:11,600 --> 00:52:14,930
Citizenship is how we
fight the politics of fear.


1055
00:52:14,930 --> 00:52:17,380
The politics of citizenship,
the politics of engagement,


1056
00:52:17,380 --> 00:52:20,080
taking responsibility
is a much better way


1057
00:52:20,080 --> 00:52:24,890
to deal with terrorism than
hunkering down being spectators


1058
00:52:24,890 --> 00:52:27,330
and allowing the government
to rob us of our liberties,


1059
00:52:27,330 --> 00:52:29,710
to rob us of our
multiculturalism


1060
00:52:29,710 --> 00:52:31,520
in the name of protecting us.


1061
00:52:31,520 --> 00:52:33,340
I think the history
of the United States,


1062
00:52:33,340 --> 00:52:36,930
as a work in progress, and
our attempt at democracy


1063
00:52:36,930 --> 00:52:40,040
here is a constant
struggle between capitalism


1064
00:52:40,040 --> 00:52:40,750
and democracy.


1065
00:52:40,750 --> 00:52:43,760
And there have been ebbs
and flows where democracy


1066
00:52:43,760 --> 00:52:44,800
looks like it's winning.


1067
00:52:44,800 --> 00:52:47,570
You reign in those
powerful forces.


1068
00:52:47,570 --> 00:52:51,350
But the fundamental reality is
that most of the Government's


1069
00:52:51,350 --> 00:52:53,360
decisions today
are substantially


1070
00:52:53,360 --> 00:52:56,400
dictated by powerful
corporate interests.


1071
00:52:56,400 --> 00:52:58,510
Clearly, capitalism is winning.


1072
00:52:58,510 --> 00:53:00,100
For anyone who
doesn't yet know,


1073
00:53:00,100 --> 00:53:02,320
our corporations have
been in the Middle East


1074
00:53:02,320 --> 00:53:04,360
trampling on their
beliefs and customs


1075
00:53:04,360 --> 00:53:06,370
since they discovered oil.


1076
00:53:06,370 --> 00:53:08,110
Our corporations
would tell us they


1077
00:53:08,110 --> 00:53:10,180
are just getting us
the things we need,


1078
00:53:10,180 --> 00:53:11,800
and there is truth in that.


1079
00:53:11,800 --> 00:53:15,850
But we have to decide what
price we are willing to pay.


1080
00:53:15,850 --> 00:53:19,870
We as individuals drive the
demand for these resources.


1081
00:53:19,870 --> 00:53:21,730
As long as we are
all aware of the fact


1082
00:53:21,730 --> 00:53:25,360
there is blood in this oil,
and that is the decision


1083
00:53:25,360 --> 00:53:27,380
that we make, then so be it.


1084
00:53:33,230 --> 00:53:35,180
It's completely
understandable that people


1085
00:53:35,180 --> 00:53:37,180
bury their heads in the sand.


1086
00:53:37,180 --> 00:53:38,790
And if we don't
look too closely,


1087
00:53:38,790 --> 00:53:42,280
life doesn't seem too bad
in many areas of the world.


1088
00:53:42,280 --> 00:53:44,050
But that is going to change.


1089
00:53:44,050 --> 00:53:45,650
And there are some
logical outcomes


1090
00:53:45,650 --> 00:53:47,690
to the way this
system works that will


1091
00:53:47,690 --> 00:53:49,640
affect every one of us.


1092
00:53:52,900 --> 00:53:57,100
I was invited to Washington
DC to attend this meeting that


1093
00:53:57,100 --> 00:53:58,820
was being put together
by the National


1094
00:53:58,820 --> 00:54:02,800
Security Agency called the
Critical Thinking Consortium.


1095
00:54:02,800 --> 00:54:04,760
I remember standing
there in this room


1096
00:54:04,760 --> 00:54:07,700
and looking over on
one side of the room.


1097
00:54:07,700 --> 00:54:16,220
And we had CIA, NSA, DIA,
FBI, Customs, Secret Service.


1098
00:54:16,220 --> 00:54:17,730
And then on the other
side of the room,


1099
00:54:17,730 --> 00:54:23,780
we had Coca Cola, Mobil
Oil, GTE, and Kodak.


1100
00:54:23,780 --> 00:54:25,260
And I remember
thinking, I am, like,


1101
00:54:25,260 --> 00:54:28,270
in the epicenter
of the intelligence


1102
00:54:28,270 --> 00:54:29,390
industry right now.


1103
00:54:29,390 --> 00:54:31,920
I mean, the line is
not just blurring.


1104
00:54:31,920 --> 00:54:35,180
It's just not there anymore.


1105
00:54:35,180 --> 00:54:41,600
And to me, it spoke volumes as
to how industry and government


1106
00:54:41,600 --> 00:54:45,110
were consulting with each other
and working with each other.


1107
00:54:45,110 --> 00:54:48,180
An initial news report in the
Army Times newspaper last month


1108
00:54:48,180 --> 00:54:51,030
noted, in addition to
urgent emergency response,


1109
00:54:51,030 --> 00:54:54,960
the force, quote, "may be called
upon to help with civil unrest


1110
00:54:54,960 --> 00:54:56,410
and crowd control."


1111
00:54:56,410 --> 00:54:59,260
Did this surprise you?
-It did.


1112
00:54:59,260 --> 00:55:01,990
It surprised me also that
NORTHCOM itself was involved


1113
00:55:01,990 --> 00:55:04,590
in intelligence sharing
with local police


1114
00:55:04,590 --> 00:55:06,310
officers in Saint Paul.


1115
00:55:06,310 --> 00:55:08,390
I mean, what in the
world is NORTHCOM


1116
00:55:08,390 --> 00:55:12,360
doing looking at what some of
the protesters are involved in?


1117
00:55:12,360 --> 00:55:13,960
And you had infiltration
up there, too.


1118
00:55:13,960 --> 00:55:16,040
But what we have going
on in this country


1119
00:55:16,040 --> 00:55:18,290
is we have infiltration
and spying that goes on


1120
00:55:18,290 --> 00:55:21,300
not only at the-- well, all
the way from the campus police,


1121
00:55:21,300 --> 00:55:23,540
practically, aiming up to
the Pentagon and the National


1122
00:55:23,540 --> 00:55:24,680
Security Agency.


1123
00:55:24,680 --> 00:55:26,510
We're becoming a
police state, here.


1124
00:55:26,510 --> 00:55:29,310
Right now, as we
talk, the Fourth


1125
00:55:29,310 --> 00:55:31,590
and Sixth Amendments
to the Constitution


1126
00:55:31,590 --> 00:55:33,830
to the Bill of Rights
are dead letters.


1127
00:55:33,830 --> 00:55:36,250
Both of these bills were
written into the Constitution


1128
00:55:36,250 --> 00:55:38,870
by the Founding Fathers
in order to protect


1129
00:55:38,870 --> 00:55:42,290
the people of America from
the government of America.


1130
00:55:42,290 --> 00:55:45,090
Right now, the right
to freedom of speech,


1131
00:55:45,090 --> 00:55:48,760
the right to free assembly,
and the right to a fair trial


1132
00:55:48,760 --> 00:55:51,600
are no longer protected by law.


1133
00:55:51,600 --> 00:55:53,940
NARRATOR: The result of the
Patriot Act, the Military


1134
00:55:53,940 --> 00:55:57,330
Tribunal Act, and many other
bills written in the name


1135
00:55:57,330 --> 00:56:01,280
of Homeland Security is that
almost any action, speech,


1136
00:56:01,280 --> 00:56:03,700
or protest against
the Government


1137
00:56:03,700 --> 00:56:07,650
can be construed
legally as terrorism.


1138
00:56:07,650 --> 00:56:10,910
Your home can be searched
secretly, without a warrant.


1139
00:56:10,910 --> 00:56:13,950
You can could be arrested with
no charges revealed to you.


1140
00:56:13,950 --> 00:56:16,050
You can be detained
indefinitely,


1141
00:56:16,050 --> 00:56:20,840
and tortured without any
protection under the law.


1142
00:56:20,840 --> 00:56:25,900
In 2005, Congress
passed the Real ID Act.


1143
00:56:25,900 --> 00:56:30,730
Soon, we will be required
to carry ID cards by law.


1144
00:56:30,730 --> 00:56:33,050
There are plans to
equip these cards


1145
00:56:33,050 --> 00:56:35,740
with RFID tracking
chips that will be


1146
00:56:35,740 --> 00:56:38,000
able to track your every move.


1147
00:56:38,000 --> 00:56:42,420
These tracking chips are
already in all new passports.


1148
00:56:42,420 --> 00:56:44,420
Many believe this
will eventually


1149
00:56:44,420 --> 00:56:48,420
lead to the implanted chip,
which is already being used


1150
00:56:48,420 --> 00:56:50,590
in many places in our society.


1151
00:56:50,590 --> 00:56:53,240
We have a Florida
family who are really


1152
00:56:53,240 --> 00:56:55,220
pioneers in a brave new world.


1153
00:56:55,220 --> 00:56:58,060
They have volunteered
to be the first ever


1154
00:56:58,060 --> 00:57:01,100
to have microchip
identification devices


1155
00:57:01,100 --> 00:57:02,900
implanted into their body.


1156
00:57:02,900 --> 00:57:05,600
After 9/11, I was
really concerned


1157
00:57:05,600 --> 00:57:07,360
with the security of my family.


1158
00:57:07,360 --> 00:57:08,630
I wouldn't mind
having something


1159
00:57:08,630 --> 00:57:12,330
planted permanently in my
arm that would identify me.


1160
00:57:12,330 --> 00:57:15,410
NARRATOR: It is not difficult
to see a future where we are all


1161
00:57:15,410 --> 00:57:17,960
locked in to a monitored
control grid, where


1162
00:57:17,960 --> 00:57:21,060
every move and all
transactions will be tracked,


1163
00:57:21,060 --> 00:57:22,910
monitored, and recorded.


1164
00:57:22,910 --> 00:57:24,900
And if anyone gets
out of line, they


1165
00:57:24,900 --> 00:57:26,910
can just turn off their chip.


1166
00:57:26,910 --> 00:57:29,290
Could the sense of
fear and isolation


1167
00:57:29,290 --> 00:57:33,160
prevalent in our society allow
us to accept totalitarian


1168
00:57:33,160 --> 00:57:34,950
measures of this nature?


1169
00:57:34,950 --> 00:57:39,150
And if we become scared enough,
might not even demand them?


1170
00:57:39,150 --> 00:57:41,520
Has our sense of
fear and division


1171
00:57:41,520 --> 00:57:44,370
detached us from reality?


1172
00:57:44,370 --> 00:57:48,060
It is not too difficult to
imagine that many of our fears


1173
00:57:48,060 --> 00:57:50,020
are manufactured for us.


1174
00:57:50,020 --> 00:57:52,690
History shows us
that many in power


1175
00:57:52,690 --> 00:57:55,730
have used fear to
manipulate societies.


1176
00:57:55,730 --> 00:57:59,230
And there are those who would
benefit from a totalitarian


1177
00:57:59,230 --> 00:58:01,830
world government.


1178
00:58:01,830 --> 00:58:05,530
This is Aaron Russo,
a formal politician.


1179
00:58:05,530 --> 00:58:09,310
Next to him is Nicholas
Rockefeller, of the Rockefeller


1180
00:58:09,310 --> 00:58:11,140
banking family.


1181
00:58:11,140 --> 00:58:14,140
After a long friendship,
Aaron Russo eventually


1182
00:58:14,140 --> 00:58:16,320
ended their
relationship, appalled


1183
00:58:16,320 --> 00:58:19,580
at what he had learned of the
Rockefellers and their plans.


1184
00:58:19,580 --> 00:58:21,450
AARON RUSSO (ON RECORDING):
So he said to me one night--


1185
00:58:21,450 --> 00:58:24,390
he said that there's going
to be an event there.


1186
00:58:24,390 --> 00:58:25,560
And out of that
event, you're going


1187
00:58:25,560 --> 00:58:29,050
to see we're going to go into
Afghanistan so we can run


1188
00:58:29,050 --> 00:58:30,650
pipelines from the Caspian Sea.


1189
00:58:30,650 --> 00:58:33,020
We're going to go into
Iraq to take the oil


1190
00:58:33,020 --> 00:58:35,190
and establish a base
in the Middle East.


1191
00:58:35,190 --> 00:58:36,530
And we're going to
go into Venezuela


1192
00:58:36,530 --> 00:58:39,040
and try and get rid of Chavez.


1193
00:58:39,040 --> 00:58:41,200
And the first two
they've accomplished.


1194
00:58:41,200 --> 00:58:43,150
Chavez, they didn't accomplish.


1195
00:58:43,150 --> 00:58:45,790
And, uh, he said you're going
to guys going into caves looking


1196
00:58:45,790 --> 00:58:49,490
for-- [LAUGH] looking
for people that they're


1197
00:58:49,490 --> 00:58:51,260
never going to find.


1198
00:58:51,260 --> 00:58:52,760
He was laughing about
the fact that you


1199
00:58:52,760 --> 00:58:55,070
have this war on terrorism.


1200
00:58:55,070 --> 00:58:55,930
There's no real enemy.


1201
00:58:55,930 --> 00:58:59,710
He's talking about how, by
having this war on terror,


1202
00:58:59,710 --> 00:59:03,120
you can never win it.
Because it's an eternal war.


1203
00:59:03,120 --> 00:59:06,000
And so you can always keep
taking people's liberties away.


1204
00:59:06,000 --> 00:59:07,370
And I said, how are
you going to convince


1205
00:59:07,370 --> 00:59:08,910
people that this war is real?


1206
00:59:08,910 --> 00:59:10,150
He said, but the media.


1207
00:59:10,150 --> 00:59:11,960
The media can convince
everybody it's real.


1208
00:59:11,960 --> 00:59:14,950
I mean, it's just that you
keep talking about things.


1209
00:59:14,950 --> 00:59:16,970
You keep saying it over
and over and over again,


1210
00:59:16,970 --> 00:59:19,200
and eventually
people believe it.


1211
00:59:19,200 --> 00:59:20,300
You know, you
created the Federal


1212
00:59:20,300 --> 00:59:23,070
Reserve in 1913 through lies.


1213
00:59:23,070 --> 00:59:26,350
You create 9/11,
which is another lie.


1214
00:59:26,350 --> 00:59:28,930
Through 9/11, then you're
fighting a war on terror.


1215
00:59:28,930 --> 00:59:30,160
And now all of a
sudden, you're going


1216
00:59:30,160 --> 00:59:31,990
to Iraq, which was another lie.


1217
00:59:31,990 --> 00:59:33,930
And now they're
going to do Iran.


1218
00:59:33,930 --> 00:59:34,630
You know?


1219
00:59:34,630 --> 00:59:36,930
And so it's one thing leading
to another, leading to another,


1220
00:59:36,930 --> 00:59:38,140
leading to another.


1221
00:59:38,140 --> 00:59:39,890
Now, I would say, what
are you doing this for?


1222
00:59:39,890 --> 00:59:41,280
What's the point of this thing?


1223
00:59:41,280 --> 00:59:43,290
You have all the money in
the world you ever want.


1224
00:59:43,290 --> 00:59:44,610
You have all the power.


1225
00:59:44,610 --> 00:59:45,940
I said, you know,
you're hurting people.


1226
00:59:45,940 --> 00:59:47,270
It's not a good thing.


1227
00:59:47,270 --> 00:59:50,230
And he would say, what do you
care about the people for?


1228
00:59:50,230 --> 00:59:52,990
Take care of yourself and
you take care of your family.


1229
00:59:52,990 --> 00:59:54,780
And then I said to
him, what's the-- what


1230
00:59:54,780 --> 00:59:56,630
are the ultimate goals here?


1231
00:59:56,630 --> 00:59:59,320
He said, the ultimate
goal is to get everybody


1232
00:59:59,320 --> 01:00:02,480
in this world chipped with
a [INAUDIBLE] ID chip,


1233
01:00:02,480 --> 01:00:04,620
and have all money
be on those chips


1234
01:00:04,620 --> 01:00:06,280
and everything on those chips.


1235
01:00:06,280 --> 01:00:08,520
And if anybody wants
to protest what we do


1236
01:00:08,520 --> 01:00:11,210
or violate what we want, we
just turn off their chip.


1237
01:00:30,530 --> 01:00:32,940
There are some very
troubling possible futures


1238
01:00:32,940 --> 01:00:34,730
for our society.


1239
01:00:34,730 --> 01:00:37,730
Climate change will
displace millions of people,


1240
01:00:37,730 --> 01:00:40,950
and we'll hit peak oil in 2015.


1241
01:00:40,950 --> 01:00:44,390
Thereafter, the price
of oil will skyrocket.


1242
01:00:44,390 --> 01:00:46,420
So we'll see supply
decrease, and we'll


1243
01:00:46,420 --> 01:00:50,740
see prices of basic foods and
every basic commodity spiral


1244
01:00:50,740 --> 01:00:52,140
upwards.


1245
01:00:52,140 --> 01:00:55,610
Our current world population
is just under 7 billion,


1246
01:00:55,610 --> 01:01:00,020
and that figure will double
approximately every 35 years.


1247
01:01:00,020 --> 01:01:01,760
So take a look at
where you live.


1248
01:01:01,760 --> 01:01:04,420
Try to imagine double
the amount of people,


1249
01:01:04,420 --> 01:01:06,930
twice the demand for
resources, and double


1250
01:01:06,930 --> 01:01:08,580
the amount of pollution.


1251
01:01:08,580 --> 01:01:11,890
Massive changes are coming,
whether we like it or not.


1252
01:01:11,890 --> 01:01:13,450
I'm not a politician.


1253
01:01:13,450 --> 01:01:15,030
I'm not looking
for your vote, so I


1254
01:01:15,030 --> 01:01:16,830
can give it to you straight.


1255
01:01:16,830 --> 01:01:19,040
This system cannot continue.


1256
01:01:19,040 --> 01:01:21,670
So who will make the decisions
about who gets food to eat,


1257
01:01:21,670 --> 01:01:24,280
or who goes hungry, or
who gets water to drink


1258
01:01:24,280 --> 01:01:26,130
and who goes without?


1259
01:01:26,130 --> 01:01:29,250
Because the idea of allowing
mindless corporations


1260
01:01:29,250 --> 01:01:32,410
or wealthy elites to make
decisions about population


1261
01:01:32,410 --> 01:01:34,260
control is terrifying.


1262
01:01:37,220 --> 01:01:40,870
NARRATOR: The great heroes of
our times-- people like Gandhi


1263
01:01:40,870 --> 01:01:44,640
and Martin Luther King--
incredible though they were,


1264
01:01:44,640 --> 01:01:47,770
could not create
change on their own.


1265
01:01:47,770 --> 01:01:50,170
Only the will of the
people can do that.


1266
01:01:50,170 --> 01:01:52,480
And together, we can
accomplish anything.


1267
01:02:01,400 --> 01:02:06,760
Interestingly, the way to win
back democracy, end the wars,


1268
01:02:06,760 --> 01:02:10,850
and save our environment
has just one cure.


1269
01:02:10,850 --> 01:02:11,690
And it's simple.


1270
01:02:20,520 --> 01:02:23,820
We live in a capitalist system.


1271
01:02:23,820 --> 01:02:27,720
Everything we do is based
on the exchange of money.


1272
01:02:27,720 --> 01:02:30,190
The media and the
advertising web


1273
01:02:30,190 --> 01:02:33,150
have turned us into
obedient little consumers,


1274
01:02:33,150 --> 01:02:35,650
trying to buy
ourselves to happiness


1275
01:02:35,650 --> 01:02:38,140
in a throw-away society.


1276
01:02:38,140 --> 01:02:41,100
This creates such a
demand on our resources


1277
01:02:41,100 --> 01:02:45,100
that our corporations invade
other countries to get more,


1278
01:02:45,100 --> 01:02:48,120
causing untold war and conflict.


1279
01:02:48,120 --> 01:02:51,600
Then, using the wealth and
power that we give them,


1280
01:02:51,600 --> 01:02:56,810
corporations undermine
democracy and justice.


1281
01:02:56,810 --> 01:03:00,950
However, the unlikely and
ironic outcome of consumerism


1282
01:03:00,950 --> 01:03:06,360
is that it makes you, the
consumer, all powerful.


1283
01:03:06,360 --> 01:03:10,560
The way we use money has
more influence in our society


1284
01:03:10,560 --> 01:03:12,410
than anything else.


1285
01:03:12,410 --> 01:03:14,750
And the way we choose
to spend our money


1286
01:03:14,750 --> 01:03:17,590
can change everything.


1287
01:03:17,590 --> 01:03:20,710
No company will continue a
practice or product that you,


1288
01:03:20,710 --> 01:03:23,060
the consumer, will not buy.


1289
01:03:23,060 --> 01:03:25,400
It's vitally important
that you understand this,


1290
01:03:25,400 --> 01:03:28,090
because this gives you
ultimate power to change


1291
01:03:28,090 --> 01:03:29,950
the world you live in.


1292
01:03:29,950 --> 01:03:31,800
Companies are
extremely sensitive


1293
01:03:31,800 --> 01:03:33,590
about you buying their
products because if you


1294
01:03:33,590 --> 01:03:36,270
don't buy their stuff,
they go out of business.


1295
01:03:36,270 --> 01:03:39,610
That's not something any
company is willing to consider.


1296
01:03:39,610 --> 01:03:41,780
And by choosing to
spend your money wisely,


1297
01:03:41,780 --> 01:03:44,410
you can promote those
companies that do business


1298
01:03:44,410 --> 01:03:47,240
in a socially responsible way.


1299
01:03:47,240 --> 01:03:48,930
NARRATOR: Without
saying a word, you


1300
01:03:48,930 --> 01:03:53,150
will have a sent a clear message
that they simply can't ignore.


1301
01:03:53,150 --> 01:03:58,070
It will be heard, headed,
and acted upon, guaranteed.


1302
01:03:58,070 --> 01:04:00,600
This is real power.


1303
01:04:00,600 --> 01:04:03,270
For example, if a company
pollutes the environment


1304
01:04:03,270 --> 01:04:07,010
or uses bad business practices,
if you don't buy their stuff,


1305
01:04:07,010 --> 01:04:08,370
they will change.


1306
01:04:08,370 --> 01:04:11,340
If you don't want food with
chemicals or GMOs in it,


1307
01:04:11,340 --> 01:04:12,760
then don't buy it.


1308
01:04:12,760 --> 01:04:15,350
NARRATOR: Basic foods and
cleaning products make


1309
01:04:15,350 --> 01:04:18,820
up 70% of our weekly purchases.


1310
01:04:18,820 --> 01:04:22,330
This drives the agricultural
and chemical industries


1311
01:04:22,330 --> 01:04:25,540
that have a massive
effect on our environment.


1312
01:04:25,540 --> 01:04:27,840
If we can start making
the right choices


1313
01:04:27,840 --> 01:04:30,630
about these simple,
everyday purchases,


1314
01:04:30,630 --> 01:04:32,950
we can save our environment.


1315
01:04:32,950 --> 01:04:35,680
We've got into the habit
of buying junk fast foods


1316
01:04:35,680 --> 01:04:37,690
that have no actual
food in them.


1317
01:04:37,690 --> 01:04:40,270
We by gallons of poisonous
household cleaners


1318
01:04:40,270 --> 01:04:42,830
when one degradable
soft soap will do.


1319
01:04:42,830 --> 01:04:45,840
We are poisoning our homes and
wasting our hard-earned money


1320
01:04:45,840 --> 01:04:47,100
for no good reason.


1321
01:04:47,100 --> 01:04:47,800
Why?


1322
01:04:47,800 --> 01:04:50,740
Because the advertising
industry tells us to.


1323
01:04:50,740 --> 01:04:53,880
They just want you to buy stuff.


1324
01:04:53,880 --> 01:04:56,200
The car is the
single biggest strain


1325
01:04:56,200 --> 01:04:57,960
on the Earth's resources.


1326
01:04:57,960 --> 01:05:01,700
Just about every mineral,
every chemical, and every metal


1327
01:05:01,700 --> 01:05:06,060
known to man goes into the
manufacture of our cars.


1328
01:05:06,060 --> 01:05:08,330
The gasoline engine
is inefficient


1329
01:05:08,330 --> 01:05:11,070
and poisons our environment.


1330
01:05:11,070 --> 01:05:15,650
The car, as it is today,
cannot be sustained.


1331
01:05:15,650 --> 01:05:17,890
It is up to us to
drive the demand


1332
01:05:17,890 --> 01:05:21,070
for clean, efficient vehicles.


1333
01:05:21,070 --> 01:05:24,260
Do not underestimate the
power of that dollar bill


1334
01:05:24,260 --> 01:05:25,610
in your pocket.


1335
01:05:25,610 --> 01:05:29,070
The way you spend that dollar
already affects economies


1336
01:05:29,070 --> 01:05:31,180
and lives around the world.


1337
01:05:31,180 --> 01:05:35,850
Spent wisely, it can fix
every problem known to man.


1338
01:05:35,850 --> 01:05:38,470
The minute we start taking
responsibility and spending


1339
01:05:38,470 --> 01:05:41,840
our money wisely, every
politician, every corporation


1340
01:05:41,840 --> 01:05:43,730
and leader around
the world is going


1341
01:05:43,730 --> 01:05:46,050
to know that we have woken up.


1342
01:05:46,050 --> 01:05:49,680
And that is the most
important point in this film.


1343
01:05:49,680 --> 01:05:52,740
All of the abuse in our
system happens because we


1344
01:05:52,740 --> 01:05:54,770
just roll over and take it.


1345
01:05:54,770 --> 01:05:56,290
But when we get
involved and start


1346
01:05:56,290 --> 01:05:59,720
making the right decisions,
everything changes.


1347
01:05:59,720 --> 01:06:02,060
Our consumer choices
are the easiest


1348
01:06:02,060 --> 01:06:04,040
way for us to get
involved in a very


1349
01:06:04,040 --> 01:06:06,300
meaningful and powerful way.


1350
01:06:06,300 --> 01:06:08,840
But the issue is
our involvement--


1351
01:06:08,840 --> 01:06:13,050
you and I taking responsibility,
you and I demanding the truth,


1352
01:06:13,050 --> 01:06:17,770
learning the facts, and making
our decisions accordingly.


1353
01:06:17,770 --> 01:06:19,430
NARRATOR: There are
serious decisions


1354
01:06:19,430 --> 01:06:23,480
to be made about the
future of our society.


1355
01:06:23,480 --> 01:06:26,840
Because there are so many
of us and population levels


1356
01:06:26,840 --> 01:06:30,870
are rising all the time, we
have to drastically reduce


1357
01:06:30,870 --> 01:06:34,240
our demand for every
consumer product.


1358
01:06:34,240 --> 01:06:37,820
Breaking the habits of a
lifetime won't be easy.


1359
01:06:37,820 --> 01:06:40,180
Retooling industry
and maintaining


1360
01:06:40,180 --> 01:06:42,640
balance in our
markets and economies


1361
01:06:42,640 --> 01:06:44,750
is a massive undertaking.


1362
01:06:44,750 --> 01:06:47,970
But we can address all
of these questions.


1363
01:06:47,970 --> 01:06:50,670
You have the power
to deny profits


1364
01:06:50,670 --> 01:06:54,180
to offending corporations,
and support those


1365
01:06:54,180 --> 01:06:56,800
who maintain good practices.


1366
01:06:56,800 --> 01:07:00,480
You can express the
concerns you hold dear


1367
01:07:00,480 --> 01:07:04,120
and herald a new beginning at
every level of our society.


1368
01:07:06,660 --> 01:07:08,570
This is the 21st century.


1369
01:07:08,570 --> 01:07:12,030
If we use our resources wisely,
there is no reason why anyone


1370
01:07:12,030 --> 01:07:14,150
shouldn't have what they need.


1371
01:07:14,150 --> 01:07:17,230
There's no reason whatsoever
why people are still starving


1372
01:07:17,230 --> 01:07:19,000
to death on our planet.


1373
01:07:19,000 --> 01:07:20,850
And the common man or
woman, whether they


1374
01:07:20,850 --> 01:07:23,770
are Israli or Palestinian,
Protestant or Catholic,


1375
01:07:23,770 --> 01:07:27,170
or Iraqi or American--
the common man just


1376
01:07:27,170 --> 01:07:31,000
wants to live in peace and
justice in a clean environment.


1377
01:07:31,000 --> 01:07:34,070
When we look around the world
and we see that that is not


1378
01:07:34,070 --> 01:07:36,930
the case, we know that
the will of the majority


1379
01:07:36,930 --> 01:07:38,860
is not being listened to.


1380
01:07:38,860 --> 01:07:42,800
That's the first sign
that our system is broken.


1381
01:07:42,800 --> 01:07:46,030
Government won't make
these changes for us.


1382
01:07:46,030 --> 01:07:49,130
Yet again, it is down
to the common man.


1383
01:07:49,130 --> 01:07:52,230
Please don't just watch
this movie and turn away.


1384
01:07:52,230 --> 01:07:54,550
We can fix this system.


1385
01:07:54,550 --> 01:07:55,850
Go to the website.


1386
01:07:55,850 --> 01:07:58,900
Take that first step
towards an incredible future


1387
01:07:58,900 --> 01:08:00,930
for all of us.


1388
01:08:00,930 --> 01:08:02,670
Thank you for watching.