Kindness and Compassion on Display in Film Doc “The Antidote”

On this episode of PEACE TALKS RADIO, we consider a 2020 film documentary
made in response to the times we are living in. THE ANTIDOTE is a feature
documentary that weaves together stories of kindness, decency, and the
power of community in America. It's about everyday people who make the
intentional choice to lift others up, despite the fundamentally unkind
ways of our society, which are at once facts of life in America and yet
deeply antithetical to our founding ideals.
Host Paul Ingles talks with the film's directors: Academy Award-nominee
Kahane Cooperman, and six-time Emmy winner, John Hoffman. The film is
available on several platforms for online viewing.
Among the stories featured in the film is a program offering health
service to the homeless in Boston; a resettlement support services project
helping refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo adjust to a
very different life in Anchorage, Alaska; a community college in Amarillo,
Texas really going the extra mile to remove the emotional, logistical and
financial barriers students face as they try to improve themselves to
contribute more substantially to their families and the community; a
Decatur, Georgia Baptist church going off the more common script in
opening up its doors to embrace and include the LGBTQ+ community; an
intentionally intergenerational living community in Portland, Oregon
matches young people in foster care with elderly residents who offer love
and compassionate guidance.
Paul also talks with 2 of the kindness agents featured in the film. One
is DeAmon Harges in Indianapolis, Indiana. He’s a community organizer who
seems to be crafting meaningful change by bringing out the gifts and
talents of his neighbors in a neighborhood that’s been through tough
times. The focal point of the project is a bike shop that employs young
people to re-condition bikes for others. Multigenerational and
multi-ethnic adults pitch in to help. We also visit with Modesto,
California high school teacher Sherry McIntyre who has, since 2000, been
teaching freshman about the history of World Religions. The ninth graders
learn how to engage with different ideas, cultures and beliefs in
McIntyre’s class and are on their way to becoming more open-minded,
accepting young adults.