Know What To Fight For

 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. this episode is the final one in this series 

Episode Six With Morgan Freeman
November 22, 2017
The Spirit Of Rebellion
Guest: John Kiriakou and Hector Monsegur 

Rebel---rebellion---to go against. Rebellion is something that is always occurring around the globe, has occurred and will occur. Whether it be armed warfare or subversive, someone is going to rebel against a government, an organization, or even family traditions. Included in number six, the final episode of  “The Story Of Us” are two men who have fought back in different ways. Morgan Freeman’s incisive questions bring out unusual answers. 

First, we meet “Hector The Hacker” (Monsegur) who began, at age thirteen, to use his computer as an escape from reality.When you see a goal---a large company, for example---and decide to invade their computer systems, you wonder---can I really do it? Hector could---and you can get caught up in it. Hackerism. Hector is of Puerto Rican descent and was known as a black hat hacker. In 2000, he decided to find out what really happened when the Puerto Rican government allowed the U.S. to practice shelling, with “hot shells” on islands close to Puerto Rico. Was this safe? 

Then, we see John Kiriakou, a CIA analyst and case worker, who, after September 11, was working on the Al Qaeda project to find Abu Zubaydah. The details on water boarding are harrowing, and you begin to see how people would confess to anything just to be able to breathe. But, what part of this can be truth? 

If readers have participated in a rebellion, whether in college days (raising tuition rates)  or in the work force (working conditions), they remember the passion of participation. This is against something they truly believe in, such as not cutting down a forest for a shopping mall or preserving an historic site or the quality of grocery food. Global rebellions are against  regimes that allow no freedom for just about anything, and strong reprisals for disobedience. What rebellion amounts to is preserving inpidual freedoms. This is what our Declaration of Independence stands for---in one word---equal. 

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