An Act of Conscience
Democracy and Its Discontents
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1h 30m
Directed by Robbie Leppzer • Documentary • With Martin Sheen, Randy Kehler, Pete Seeger • 1997 • 90 minutes
How far are you willing to go to stand up for your deepest beliefs? For Randy Kehler and Betsy Corner of Colrain, Massachusetts, their life-long commitment to pacifism led them to risk losing their home. For fourteen years, they publicly refused to pay federal taxes as a protest against war and military spending. As a consequence, their home was seized by U.S. marshals and IRS agents. Narrated by actor Martin Sheen, this feature-length documentary chronicles the couple’s five-year struggle to nonviolently resist the seizure of their home, in which they are joined by hundreds of supporters from across the country, including noted author and activist priest Fr. Daniel Berrigan and long-time folksinger Pete Seeger.
When a young couple buys the contested home at auction from the U.S. government for $5,400, they become involved in a political and moral battle much larger than what they originally bargained for. An Act of Conscience provides a compelling and thought-provoking glimpse of the conflict between these two families: one couple reaching for the American dream, the other challenging the very foundation of that dream. Digitally Remastered 4K Version.
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