I encourage you to take a dose of this medicine for yourself ... and share it with others in your circle. It also would make a great movie night for a group, with discussion!
The true story in this documentary can open up our perception of what is possible, and how to succeed at reclaiming our democracy.
Not long ago, the people in Serbia had a much worse dictatorship than the growing threats that we see here now. And yet activists achieved regime change nonviolently!
The film also shows us two key strategies ... why nonviolence works ... and how the values of democracy inspire people, bringing them together in passion and commitment, in a way that mocking personal attacks never can.
I also loved seeing how passionate these young people were about the goal of democracy. It can help us to remember why people have fought and died for democracy ... to appreciate what we have today while we still have it ... and continue to improve it.
Our ancestors lived in dictatorships. They knew the pain every day. That is why they fought for the rights we have today. We need to stand up for them now if we want to keep them.
We are being called to stand up for the light, brighter than the darkness, and show the best of what humanity is.
~ In service,
Patricia Dines
ABOUT THE VIDEO
Description from PBS
This one-hour documentary reveals the inside story of how Milosevic, Europe’s last dictator, was defeated, not in smoke and flames, but in a courageous and risky campaign of political defiance and nonviolent action that began more than a year earlier. Using exclusive footage and conversations with the principal actors, Bringing Down a Dictator shows how Otpor, a youth movement, in partnership with pro-democracy and human rights groups, turned the people of Serbia against Milosevic. They forced him to call for early elections, campaigned relentlessly and creatively against him, insured against election fraud and finally, turned police and army loyalty from the regime to the people. In a country saturated with weapons it was not, in the end, armed revolution or NATO military power that undid the Serbian dictator, but an ingenious strategy of civilian resistance laced with surprising humor, risk, and rock and roll. For American audiences there is special interest: the Serbian people’s success was hastened by a flow of technical and financial assistance from the United States and the European Union, in what could become a model for American policy in support of popular democratic forces seeking to remove authoritarians elsewhere in the world.
http://pbsinternational.org/programs/bringing-down-a-dictator
Watch it here free
https://vimeo.com/143379353
Buy it, support it, get more information here
https://www.nonviolent-conflict.org/resource/bringing-dictator-french/
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