Political Freedom
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 Wednesday
Episode Five With Morgan Freeman
November 15, 2017
The Power Of Us
Guest: President Bill Clinton
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word “free” as “not controlled by others and done voluntarily.” “Freedom” is “the quality or state of being free and unrestricted right." This is what we enjoy in the United States and through the centuries, it has been a hard earned right.
One of the guests on Episode Five of “The Story Of Us” is President Bill Clinton. Democracy (as defined by the afore-mentioned dictionary) is “government by the people” and “a government in which the supreme power is held by the people.” President Clinton speaks of what we are seeing in today’s world. The tide is changing from a world together to “tribalism,” in which smaller groups are working together and in this case, there may be too much to handle. No one gives up part of their ground willingly and this is where diplomacy comes in. When one is elected president that person is supposed to produce what was promised during election time. However, the world is not a stable place, and emergencies occur (coups, financial unrest, natural weather disasters) to disrupt the flow of government. The main thing is to keep the people informed as to what is going on and how the government will approach this situation. No secrets. But, we may ask, has there ever been a government without secrets? Each administration has had to deal with this.
Morgan Freeman explores how the Internet is changing the way democracy works. Rapid exchange of knowledge can try to force a decision by the speed of “going viral.” Do the people who are part of “going viral” know what to do with information or is this coming so fast, information is seen for a few seconds and then replaced by something more interesting. Example: an earthquake in the Middle East complete with pictures, replaced in a few minutes with a typhoon in the Far East replaced in a few minutes by......you name it. At this rate, there could be a coup and no one would realize it. It could just slip by.
Freedom is what I am experiencing right now. The freedom to write. Freedom is what you are experiencing now, the freedom to read. There are those who believe that freedom is only for a few, and the rest kept under control. We have the freedom to stop that.
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
