About "American Voices of Dissent"

The book from "XXI Century", a real independent documentary film by Gabriele Zamparini & Lorenzo Meccoli. Foreword by William Blum

“Absolutely indispensable! An important resource in the struggle.”
- Ken Loach

From the Foreword by William Blum: You are holding in your hands a book that would make an excellent time capsule; one to be opened, one would hope, in a future time when the United States was no longer on a rampage of imperial war and oppression around the world, no longer acting like a police state at home.

From the Introduction by Gabriele Zamparini and Lorenzo Meccoli: We wanted to tell the story of the American anti-war movement from the voices of its protagonists. The result was far behind our expectations. The picture that comes alive is—to paraphrase James Baldwin— “longer, larger, more various, more beautiful, and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it.” In times of danger and madness, voices of reason are voices of dissent.

Synopsis: With contributions by five Nobel Peace Prize winners, former government officials, scholars, religious leaders, journalists, activists, and prominent cultural figures, the documentary film XXI Century explores American reactions to recent global events captured through the lens of interviews and political rallies. This book presents selected excerpts from the filming of prominent U.S. citizens voicing their views on Bush administration policies in the new century. These events include the much-contested 2000 election, the September 11, 2001, attacks, the impact of the USA Patriot Act, the accelerated growth of peace movements, the recruitment of U.S. soldiers, U.S. policy and attitudes toward the Middle East, sanctions and war in Iraq, and human rights violations. The speakers also consider how the rise of media spectacle and punditry at the expense of quality journalism inhibits the ability of Americans to react to these events as informed citizens. The voices of Americans, both ordinary and famous, resonate with passion and urgency in response to the injustice and far-reaching effects of the current U.S. foreign policy. American Voices of Dissent highlights the other side of the story and makes a case for global solidarity against U.S. imperialism.

Featuring: Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal, Howard Zinn, Arno Mayer, Amy Goodman, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Scott Ritter, Susan Sarandon, September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Nelson Mandela, Jesse Jackson, Desmond Tutu, The Nation, Ramsey Clark, Danny Glover, Angela Davis, Jessica Lange, Greg Palast, Ossie Davis, American Civil Liberties Union, Indymedia, Al Sharpton, Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte, Democracy Now!, Veterans for Peace, United for Peace and Justice, FAIR, Pacifica Foundation, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, MediaChannel, Not in Our Name, International ANSWER and many other voices of dissent.