Tonight I went to see John Pilger's The War on Democracy. It was an incredibly powerful film and I was at times shocked, outraged, and moved to tears as the histories of the rise and fall of governments in Central and South America were portrayed through interviews, archival footage and John Pilger's narrative. What struck me most was the human cost of the U.S.'s involvement in political coups, dictatorships and corrupt governments throughout these regions. The first-hand accounts of human rights abuses including torture were horrifying.
At other moments ironic laugher broke out in the cinema as John Pilger responded to insane arguments from ex-CIA agents with a raised eyebrow and a classic "yeah right".
The line that wins the prize for the most original and disturbing piece of denial I have ever heard has to be that from a (Chilean?) woman who stated words to the effect of "Of course our government didn't torture people - why would you torture people when you can kill them?"
I am going to do some book-learnin' on the history of Central and South America. This is something I know very little about and need to know more about.
Also, now I'm on holidays and have to time to think, it's time I joined Amnesty International now that I'm all grown up and have a job.
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Great post Mish. I hope you are feeling better.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've read your post I am definitely going to see it.
Take care, Den.