Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the blockbuster movie titled, “Sound of Freedom” by Angel Studios. If you haven’t seen this show, go see it. If you’ve already seen it, go back and take someone who has not. Human trafficking is real and it’s alive and well in Gilbert Arizona. Don’t be ignorant or naïve to this grave sin in our own community.
For many years, Maricopa County Attorney’s office has partnered with local law enforcement like Phoenix and Gilbert Police to identify and put away human traffickers. These evil people prey on vulnerable children and youth at large schools. In Gilbert, Highland High School is a major target. (Yes, the Gilbert School Board members have known about this for years with very little action.)
Traffickers harvest their subjects in the fall for the large sporting events like the Fiesta Bowl, Super Bowl, and the Phoenix Open. Let’s not fool ourselves here, these events are more about alcohol, drugs, gambling, and sex than sport.
Zooming out from the local impact of this modern form or slavery, here are 7 key lessons learned from this movie.
- “God’s Children are NOT For Sale.”
- America still has real male heroes. God Bless Tim Ballard.
- America still has real female heroes. God Bless Tim Ballard’s wife.
- Slavery is alive and well today, but largely ignored. Some estimate 26 million people are still in slavery.
- Hollywood declares war on real heroes exposing evil like Ballard and producers like Angel they can’t control.
- The mainstream media has willingly ignored this evil. They rarely cover this topic.
- Good people don’t need Hollywood or the mainstream media to raise awareness of major problems like human trafficking.
So what can be done? Here are 7 actions you can take to address this crisis in our community and nation.
- Be watchful of your own family.
- Be aware and call the police if you suspect any issues in your family or neighborhood.
- Take someone to see “Sound of Freedom”.
- Donate time or money to local agencies like CeCe’s Hope Center and Streetlight USA.
- Write a letter to your elected officials asking them what they are doing to stop trafficking and offer to help.
- Vet candidates for future political office on what they will do on this topic. This issue is non-partisan.
- Ask God to provide an escape for each person trapped in trafficking.
May God forgive us of for this grave sin among us.