Rendition and King George
The concept of due process is one of the lasting traditions of the Magna Carta, which states,
No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned or disseised or exiled or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him nor send upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.When English speaking people began the process of limiting the power of monarchy and recognizing the inherent rights of individuals one of the most important concepts was that a person couldn't be imprisoned or punished arbitrarily by the King.
Rendition dramatizes the Bush administration's violation of that tradition through the extraordinary rendition program. By claiming the power to capture and torture individuals without providing any legal rights or evidence of guilt, George Bush is tearing down the wall that separates presidents from dictators.
For that reason I thought Rendition would be a good movie for Liberty Brew & View. I also enjoyed it as an entertaining drama that shows multiple perspectives. Rather than simplistic portrayals of good guys and bad buys, it has reasonable characters who participate in the program (or fail to stop it) and feel they're doing the right thing.
Rendition is showing for free on the big screen Tuesday, August 19 at 7:00pm. Doors open at 6:30pm. Capital City Bar & Grill, 3149 S. Dirksen Pkwy, Springfield. The Central Illinois ACLU is co-sponsoring the showing and will give some ideas about how to take action after the movie.