In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the Bush Administration rushed the Patriot Act into law without giving members of Congress much of a chance to read the final draft. That repressive statute included many Draconian measures denying citizens an array of privacy rights previously considered sacrosanct. For instance, the government is now allowed to conduct wiretapping and electronic surveillance and to examine medical, bank and credit card records, all without a warrant or probable cause.
Observing how many similarities America has since come to share with Nazi Germany, award-winning author Naomi Wolf wrote The End of America, a chilling best-seller warning that the U.S. was in danger of becoming a Fascist state. This cautionary documentary is based on that book, and features Ms. Wolf lecturing with the help of video footage in a format reminiscent of Al Gore in an Inconvenient Truth.
But instead of talking about the dire state of the environment, her enlightening expose' delineates the ten steps taken by dictators historically to destroy a democracy. A few of these include scaring the nation about both an internal and external threat; arbitrarily detaining citizens; creating secret prisons where torture is permitted; controlling the press; and treating political dissident as traitors.
Wolf goes on to make a persuasive case that America came close to totalitarianism under the Bush/Cheney regime. In sum, The End of America is a worthwhile film to the extent that it can serve a permanent watchdog function as a reminder of the possible erosion of Constitutional rights and the citizenry's need to remain vigilant about the tendency of power to corrupt, and of absolute power to corrupt absolutely.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 74 minutes
Studio: IndiePix Films
DVD Extras: Extended interviews.
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