Sound of Freedom

We just left the theater and there are still tears streaming down my face.

If you haven’t yet made plans to see The Sound of Freedom, please do so. If you cannot afford a ticket you can go to angels.com and get a free ticket- Angel Studios has set up a pay it forward program. Pass on the popcorn- you may throw up; the content isn’t really violent or gory, just psychologically disgusting- or should be. If you’re not disturbed and moved you’re already lost and we will see you on Judgement Day.

Understand that the United States is the hub of child slavery and sex trafficking; 800,000 children a year are stolen from the US, and countless more are trafficked back in, their true identities erased, considered little more than chattel. If you think that’s hyperbole, or it’s not happening in your town, or couldn’t happen to your kids, let me share some experiences…

There were three times in my life that I narrowly escaped being trafficked; two of them here in the States. I’ve told the story before about how my stepdad was offered a dozen camels for me in a market in Morrocco, and he was tempted- that equaled about $40k 35 years ago, and he didn’t like me very much anyway. But watching the Sound of Freedom uncovered a couple of other memories…

When I was 15 I was invited to participate in a “beauty pageant.” I’d never done anything like that and wasn’t sure how or why I’d been invited, but I went with it. My mom and I bought dresses for the various events and I started brainstorming answers to possible questions. We were just about to leave when my mom got a notification that due to “security concerns” parents would not be allowed to accompany their daughters backstage. That was a deal breaker for her- something just didn’t sit right in her mind, her hackles went up and she cancelled the entire trip - and made me return the money that I’d raised to pay for it. I was pissed; I didn’t understand why she would rip such an opportunity away- but now I understand completely.

A couple of years later, when I was 17, I spent the summer after my freshman year in college (I graduated high school early) teaching horse back riding at a sleep-away summer camp in Maine. It was an amazing, idyllic summer, right up until one of the last nights we were there. Normally we would start a bonfire on the edge of the lake and drink and smoke the night away after the kids were down, but this night it was raining so we hung out inside the counselors public area in one of the cabins. We were a pretty tight-knit group after spending 8 weeks together, but oddly there was a strange guy there that night that about half of us- the first year counselors- didn’t know. He was maybe 25, tall with dark hair and piercing eyes, and apparently had been a counselor in previous years. But this wasn’t just a quick visit to say “hi”- we were literally in the middle of nowhere, 30 mins to the closest small town- he was recruiting. He spoke to me at length, telling me how beautiful I was, and how I could make so much money in Vegas entertaining lonely men. No sex (he claimed), just old rich men who wanted a pretty girl to show off for a night. He even offered to pick me up on the last day of camp and fly me back to Vegas with him, because he “saw so much potential in me.” Then he asked if I had a passport. He said if I attracted the right whale I could even go to Dubai where the “real money is” because they love pretty blondes there. Now my hackles we’re so far up I’m surprised my hair wasn’t standing on end; I obviously declined his invitation. But what if I hadn’t? What if I’d been just some silly, empty-headed blonde with no discernment? What if my mom hadn’t cancelled our trip to the beauty pageant because it just didn’t feel right? Where would I be now?

These things happened 30 years ago- it’s only gotten worse and more blatant since then. In a way you’d think that their blatant disregard for basic human rights and the purity of children would make it easier to spot- and it does- but at the same time the stupidity of our population has increased exponentially, and the evil ones are excellent tricksters.

So don’t think it can’t happen in your town, or to your children. It does, it can, and it may, unless you do something about it. We did not bring our children to see the Sound of Freedom, but they will see it, and soon. We cannot protect them if we don’t tell them what we’re trying to protect them from. It’s a fine line, but for now we live in a shitty, evil world, and wrapping your children in a bubble of ignorance will only hurt them in the long run. So give your children a hug and stand up for them- for all of them. Only we can put a stop to this evil.

God’s children are not for sale.