America, from Freedom to Fascism, Aaron Russo's Legacy

What if you found out that you could legally not pay income tax? Further, that the 16th amendment to the constitution that mandated the income tax was never ratified by a sufficient number of states? These are just some of the very provocative issues raised in Aaron Russo’s last film, America, from Freedom to Fascism.

Aaron Russo was an award winning filmmaker who had a very successful career. He died of cancer in August of 2007 at the age of 64. I first heard of him back in the 60’s when he opened a concert/dance venue in Chicago called The Kinetic Playground. This was a place you could go to hear the latest bands. Instead of sitting you could dance, bounce around big playground balls, and have a very good time. I heard the band Hiroshima there.

Aaron went on to manage the career of Bette Midler for many years and finally ended up as a film producer in Hollywood. He produced the films Trading Places and The Rose among others.

Russo got involved in politics and ran for the Libertarian nomination for President in 2004 but was defeated. He kept hearing about the illegality of the IRS and when he investigated it himself he was amazed to find that it was true. This led to the making of the final film of his life, America, from Freedom to Fascism.

The picture that is painted in this film is grim and chilling, and it will take courage to face the truth of the message but face it we must! Please examine the evidence and judge for yourself. This film goes way beyond the work of Michael Moore. It is really a call that goes beyond the need for reform. If you care about our freedom we must face the issues that are raised in this film very seriously.

The film itself is close to two hours long and you can see it for free at Google video. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1656880303867390173 In order to do so, a very good high-speed connection is required. I have slow DSL and experienced some glitches trying to watch the video. The film was taken down from You Tube after getting over two million hits.

Because of its length, I would advise starting by watching some of the shorter clips that are available on the website created to promote the movie. http://www.freedomtofascism.com/ The interview with the Conscious Media Network is probably the best place to start. If this doesn’t pique your interest you had better check to see if you are still breathing:)

I noticed that this film has already been reviewed several times on Associated Content, and Russo’s ideas have often been dismissed as fringe conspiracy theories. (I have submitted this same article for publication on AC).I think folks who jump to these conclusions have not done a careful, dispassionate view of the evidence. The conclusions that are reached in this film are disturbing to say the least, and most of us are not that willing to question the status quo. So know going in that many of your assumptions are going to be questioned and be prepared to be open minded about what is presented in order to get some value from the presentation.

Anyone who is paying the least bit of attention knows that we are living in incredible times. It takes courage to face some of the unpleasant and difficult truths that are presented in this film. I am almost 65 years old so I feel like it is going to take the energy of youth to really get the changes done that are called for in this film.

Ron Paul has been getting about 10% of the Republican vote in the nominating process as of this writing. This is a long way from what it needs to be. As much as I like the charismatic Mr. Obama, I am going to vote for or write in Ron Paul in the next election because he is the only candidate who is addressing the issues aired in this very important film. Please find a way to give it your attention.