‘The House I Live In,’ free showing Friday

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By Jean Strahlendorf

Special to The PREVIEW

This Friday, Nov. 8,  a documentary titled “The House I Live In” will be shown free of charge, 6-8 p.m. at the Ross Aragon Community Center, South Room.

This film is one of the most acclaimed documentaries of 2012. The Sundance Film Festival described this documentary as,  “FEARLESS! A model of the ambitious, vitalizing activist work that exists to stir the sleeping to wake.”

The film is provocative, informative and riveting in its examination of America’s longest war. For over 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, cost over $1 trillion, has made America the world’s largest jailer, and has damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet, drugs are cheaper, purer and more available today than ever.

Where did we go wrong and what is the path toward healing?

Find out why the USA has 5 percent of world population and 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated people at this free screening of “The House I Live In.”

The documentary describes how the War on Drugs has failed America’s forgotten poor, black and brown drug addicts. Although people of all races use and sell drugs at very similar rates, the War on Drugs targets people of color. The results are devastating, not only for individuals, but also for their families and communities.  Learn how the “get tough on crime” attitude has transformed drug addiction, race and poverty into punishable offenses.

This documentary was produced by award-winning filmmaker Eugene Jarecki and executive producers Brad Pitt, John Legend, Russell Simmons and George Clooney. The film is  destined for the annals of documentary history. It tells heart-wrenching stories from individuals at all levels of America’s War on Drugs, from the dealer to grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the federal judge and prison personnel.

Ty Burr of the Boston Globe stated, “I’d hate to imply that it’s your civic duty to see this movie, but guess what — it is.”

The film is heart wrenching in its humanity, but also a masterpiece filled with hope and the potential to effect change.

This program is free and open to the community and will be followed by a discussion with expert panelists. Refreshments will be served.

Sponsored by Pagosa Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.