i guess what i'm really looking for is evidence to prove the movie wrong...
Most of the claims made are one-sided stretches of the truth.
Some examples:
-While it is true that what we celebrate religiously was consolidated into pagan rituals by Constantine to appease the citizens, and while many of those pagan beliefs are strongly based in astrology, the claim that it is "widely believed" that Jesus never existed is a huge overstatement. The claim certainly had its merits, but not many people believe it, and the writings of Josephus et al are not in adamant dispute.
-The cross of the Christian church could conceivably be a coincidental adaptation of the southern cross, but crucifixion was a very real execution style of the Romans, and anyone physically calling into question Roman authority was persecuted by crucifixion.
-While true, Prescott Bush had some stake in Union Banking Corporation, to say he had strong ties to the Nazis when he was a director with only one share in UBC when the assets were seized isn't strong grounds, especially since in that time it wasn't uncommon for businesses to have some ties to the early Nazi movement. While no one today remotely condones the idea of Nazism, people tend to forget that the American Nazism movement was fairly entrenched up to American's somewhat late involvement in the war and the enactment of the "Trading With the Enemy Act"
-IIRC the movie states as fact that both incidents in the Gulf of Tonkin were staged. That's not fact, but high allegation. Yes, the second attack most likely did not occur, but there is still a large degree of disagreement over the first attack. If the allegation of the first attack is in that much dispute, then the movie shouldn't use that as proof that American government provokes a war and lies to us so that we can throw our support to engage in combat in order to pay for the interest charged by the Federal Reserve for issuing money.
-And speaking of the Federal Reserve, the movie maintains it is a private organization. That's not entirely true either. A search in Wikipedia indicates that it is part private, part public.
The conclusion here is that you should ALWAYS think for yourself and do your own research, even when the documentary you are watching is trying to make that point for you by stretching its own truths.
