The movie Sound of Freedom was both one of the best and worst movies I’ve ever seen. Best because the story was interesting, the protagonists were likable and engaging, and the plot moved quickly. But the worst part is that it was also very hard to watch because I went into the theater knowing that the movie is largely true.
The movie starts off with the kidnapping of a brother and sister from Honduras by a young woman posing as a talent agent. You then see the American Homeland Security agent, Tim Ballard, recover the little boy. After the little boy’s rescue, he asks Tim if he can find his sister, too, and most of the movie involves Tim trying to find out what happened to the little girl.
It’s an action story of a man trying to put a family back together; it’s also a story of Tim Ballard’s personal journey in leaving the security of a government job to do what he believes is right.
Here’s some background.
I watched Jordan Peterson’s interview with both Tim Ballard and Jim Caviezel, who plays Tim in the movie, and I recommend it because it adds a bit of depth to what was going through Tim’s mind. Tim’s wife is only a very minor character in the movie, but in his interview with Jordan Peterson, Tim tells Jordan that she was actually one of the major drivers behind his actions.
Tim is a devout Mormon and had six children of his own at the time he was trying to track down the little girl from Honduras. When it became clear that trying to find her would mean leaving his government job, he tells Jordan he almost wanted his wife to tell him to just come home. Instead, she asked what he’d do if one of their children was missing, and told him, “I’m not going to allow you to jeopardize my salvation by not doing this.” Tim’s wife said she was willing to live in a tent if that was what it took for them to live with clean consciences.
Here are some key takeaways from Sound of Freedom.
This movie provided so much food for thought it’s hard to know where to start.
The movie, combined with the Jordan Peterson interview, struck me in that it really shows what a strong marriage between two people firm in their beliefs can accomplish in society. I’ve been divorced for a long time, though, so maybe that’s made me more impressed by the couples who do get it right.
More than this, the movie shows how easy it is for little children to be dragged around, unnoticed, through seedy harbors and party towns and sometimes into the background of American living. The little boy is rescued at a checkpoint between the U.S.-Mexican border when it was more secure. Tim Ballard says in multiple interviews that this is how it actually happened; they had a photo of the little boy and his sex-offending “guardian,” and so were able to throw the offender in jail and reunite the little boy with his dad.
But this event took place ten years ago. Our borders are a sieve now, and things have changed.
In an interview with Redacted, Tim Ballard talks about how our border policies under Biden have made the problem of child exploitation so much worse. Because the border has been so much more open, more people are willing to take risks in heading toward the border.
Many smugglers work with “sponsors” in the U.S. They write down a name or phone number and pin it to a child’s shirt. When they arrive in the U.S., government employees turn the children over to these “sponsors,” who will put the children to all kinds of work.
Tim Ballard is not the only person making these claims. Tara Lee Rodas, who worked at an intake site in California, came forward and testified to Congress that this was happening.
We think that we’re being nice by letting everyone into the States, but we aren’t. There is absolute chaos at our southern border. And chaos engenders atrocities.
The thriving business of human trafficking
Human traffickers have been making more than $14 million per day smuggling people through the Mexican-American border. Human trafficking is the fastest-growing international crime trade, generating about $16 trillion per year worldwide.
Some places are trying to tackle this. A great deal of prostitution-related crime occurs in hotels. In 2019, Florida required hotels to watch out for trafficking schemes, and in 2023, they cut the time for hotels to get into compliance in half before issuing fines.
Other places just won’t admit it’s a real problem. California is one of the largest sites for human trafficking in the United States, and yet California Democrats just killed a bill that would make human trafficking a felony.
Human trafficking is big business, and it goes to the top of society. Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislane Maxwell are probably the most famous, and they were known for hobnobbing with the likes of Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew.
And maybe that’s why the MSM hates this movie.
Which probably explains why this movie ran into so many problems. It took five years to be released. The script was actually written back in 2015, and they finished filming in 2018. After the movie was filmed, the producers made a distribution deal with 20th Century Fox. However, in 2019 Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, and they sat on the movie. In 2023, Angel Studios obtained distribution rights, which is why we can see it in the theaters now.
Now that it has been released, audiences love it. Sound of Freedom has a 100% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It even has a 77% critic score, which is somewhat surprising given all the negative press attention it’s received.
CNN claimed the movie fed into QAnon conspiracy theories despite the fact that human trafficking is a well-documented problem.
Oh, wait, CNN fired high-level employees Chris Cuomo, John Griffin, and Rick Saleeby after they were all arrested for crimes involving children. Maybe it’s not so surprising that the network is trashing a movie that portrays child molesters as the bad guys, after all.
It makes me wonder what Rolling Stone has to hide. They called Sound of Freedom a “superhero movie for dads with brainworms.”
Coffee the Christian way: Promised Grounds
We are at a strange time in American history.
When I was young, being in a homosexual relationship was scandalous. You could lose your job over that. When same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide, most people didn’t have a problem with it. I think a lot of us knew gay people that had some legitimate complaints surrounding health insurance and power of attorney for their partners, and it didn’t seem unreasonable to allow them access to the same kinds of benefits heterosexual couples enjoyed.
The trans movement’s been weirder. There’s not a specific set of legal privileges they want access to. Instead, they want other people to recognize their ideas about gender identity and play into their fantasies. The destruction of women’s spaces by letting biological men into women’s bathrooms and women’s sports leagues has turned the issue from ideological to physical.
And it’s still not stopping. It hasn’t been enough to destroy sexual norms and women’s sports. Have you seen the drag marchers chanting, “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re coming for your children”? They’re not joking. People with a wide variety of sexual preferences have always been around, but for a long time, behaviors were limited by cultural and religious norms. Those have been destroyed.
As I child, I had limited experience with some people that just assumed, “Well, kids that age don’t really understand anyway.” There are more perverts out there than most people want to admit. The majority of the population is not particularly violent or perverted, but they will just look away when confronted with ugly things.
Sound of Freedom begs people not to look away.
In case you were concerned, there are no scenes whatsoever of violence against children in the movie. They just do a really good job of having Jim Caviezel look upset at the right times, and the child actors also do a good job of looking scared at the right moments so that you can tell what’s going on without actually seeing it.
At one point in the movie, when Tim Ballard is trying to convince some wealthy individuals to help him, he tells them that child sex trafficking is the highest growing international crime syndicate, already passing up weapons dealing and soon to pass the drug cartels. He also tells them that, if it is not stopped, the pain of these children will spread until it reaches everything until it touches even the people that think they cannot be touched.
You really should see it, though you might want to buy your tickets early. I went during the middle of the week, thinking I didn’t need to worry about finding a seat, but the theater was packed. If you get inspired to take some kind of action or support Tim Ballard’s charity, that’s great.
If not, it’s still a really good action movie.
Have you seen Sound of Freedom?
Have you seen the movie? What did you think of it? If not, do you plan to do so? Why or why not? Do you have any thoughts on why the MSM is so adamantly opposed to the movie?
Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
About the Author
A lover of novels and cultivator of superb apple pie recipes, Marie spends her free time writing about the world around her. Article cross-posted from The Organic Prepper.
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
