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.