“Sound of Freedom” is the anti-human trafficking movie starring Christian actor Jim Caviezel which has taken much of the world by storm, as it exposes the dark underbelly of society: the massive sex slavery and human trafficking industry. The US military’s Southern Command also canceled two screenings of it.
Apparently, Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which controls US military assets and programs in South America, planned to screen the film because it is a massive hit and largely takes place in Columbia, which is a country in SOTUCOM’s aegis, making it relevant to the command’s mission.
And so SOUTHCOM announced two showings, one for August 28 and one for October 19, saying, “In support of SOUTHCOM’s mission to promote respect for human rights and combating trafficking in persons in Central and South America and the Caribbean.” The invite added, “The showing of this film does not imply or constitute endorsement by the U.S. Army nor SOUTHCOM.”
Similarly, SOUTHCOM spokesman Jose Ruiz initially told the Military Times that the “subject of the movie is something that’s of great concern to the command, in that it follows as part of its mission of countering transnational criminal organizations.” He added, “Because of the way these transnational criminal organizations exploit migrants — the hopes of migrants — in ways that end up being serious violations to their human rights, and unfortunately in some cases lead to the deaths of the migrants.”
But, of course, the knives immediately came out for SOUTHCOM when it announced two showings of the film. That is because the film is Christian in its themes and has been widely likely by many on the political right, who see it as confirming their beliefs about the dark predilections of our societal overlords.
Such is what the Military Times reported, saying, “By playing the movie on a federal base, some critics have questioned whether SOUTHCOM’s leadership is following a policy that requires troops to remain apolitical at work – as QAnon followers have spread false rumors about and bashed President Joe Biden’s administration – and to maintain a separation of church and state, considering the film’s heavy Christian narrative.”
One such activist, Sunnetta “Sunny” Slaughter, was quoted by the Military Times as complaining about the planned screenings. She said, “What is the idea and the ideology behind putting this on a military installation? Is this some form of indoctrination into an ideology of extremism?” So apparently being against sex trafficking is “extremism” and the military can’t support it.
Predictably, the military backed down and canceled the screenings of the movie, citing fears of “copyright infringement” as an excuse. The Military Times, reporting on that cancelation of the showings, said, “After Military Times initially inquired about the film’s scheduled showings, SOUTHCOM nixed the event, explaining in an email to the base that the free screenings were canceled until further notice in order to ‘prevent the appearance of copyright infringement.‘”
Watch the trailer for Sound of Freedom here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video
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