Is war inevitable?
National Geographic Channel “The Story Of Us”
Morgan Freeman, narrator
National Geographic/ Revelations Entertainment 21st Century Fox 2017
Each episode is 50 minutes in length
6 Episodes in this series that airs on Wednesdays
The Red Button
Episode Two With Morgan Freeman
October 18, 2017
The Fight For Peace
Guest: Paul Kagame
Morgan Freeman begins Episode Two of “The Story Of Us” telling of his own experiences in the military. The question for the audience is---Is war inevitable? A quote from this episode: If one nuclear device is used, it is mutual accepted destruction. Think about that for awhile.
Morgan travels the globe, searching out smaller conflicts from various nationalities and how they resolve issues. It would seem, the smaller the group, the easier it is to talk. In Ethiopia, two tribes have been fighting for generations, let’s call them “A” and “B.” Currently, the elders want to resolve things, while the younger generation does not. Peace talks do happen, though.
In the United States and other countries, there are now drones to carry on warfare. One former drone operator told of their set-up in a room with a pilot who controls the air and an operator who does the camera and missile work. As he describes what it is like to control a drone on a mission, it is quite like the 2016 movie, “Eye In The Sky” starring Helen Mirren as an officer who is trying to complete a mission before the target leaves that particular area.
As in Episode One, there are other places around the globe where there is action, so Freeman travels to Bolivia to witness a “ritual war” that pits the Highlands against the Lowlands, and this “mock war” settles any dispute for the next year. Ireland, beginning in 1968, was the scene of much violence between Protestant and Catholic in which 3000 people died. Rwanda in 1994 had a civil war between two tribes in which almost a million people lost their lives in 100 days.
Earth looks like a warring planet, from one side to another, one Pole to another. Disagreements go into fights go into wars go into who has the biggest and best weapon. Right now, we are sitting on two powder kegs, North Korea and the Middle East. As quoted from this episode, “...we are only yet here because of good luck.” How much longer will that last?
National Geographic Partners LLC and Revelations Entertainment have joined to produce this series. The series will run on television where over 730 million people, in 172 countries and 43 languages will see and hear it. The six episodes are “The March Of Freedom,” (October 11, 2017), “The Fight For Peace“ (October 18, 2017), “ The Power Of Love” (October 25, 2017,) “Us And Them” (November 8, 2017,) “The Power Of Us” (November 15, 2017) and “The Spirit Of Rebellion” (November 22, 2017.) The organization called (NGP) returns 27 percent of proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit www.natgeotv.com or www.nationalgeographic.com. Visit on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, YouTube, Linkedin and Pinterest.
Copyright 2017 Marie Asner
