Boiled down to its essence Monumental: In Search Of America's National Treasure is a blueprint for fundamentalist Christians to restore America to their view of it. According to their view of history it was when America did such things as ban school prayer and make abortion legal and available and heaven help us decide that LGBTQ people were actually citizens that ought to have equal treatment that America just lost its way.Our founding fathers true were for the most part churchgoing folks. But they also saw how wars of religion had torn Europe apart in the previous century. They made provision that at least federally we would have no established religion and none would be given preference. Eventually each state adopted that standard as well. The skepticism of Franklin, the Deism of Jefferson, the outright atheism of Tom Paine gets nary a mention.It's a warped view of America and Cameron whose career in mainstream entertainment went south is now a star on the Christian circuit. What really annoys me about this view of America and of life when you come right down to it works wonderfully if you accept unquestioningly their view of things. If you don't buy into it,either you are a unregenerate sinner or a person for this crowd to preach to. Seeing how this crowd is excusing all the scandals and peccadillos of our current president who is trying to give them the America they want should show them up for what they are.Fundamentalist Christian propaganda that really doesn't stand up to critical examination.

My rating of 3 stars represents an average of zero stars as a documentary, and 6 stars as propaganda. As a documentary, the film relies largely on opinions and when it does present actual historical events, it tends to spuriously shoehorn god into those events. It makes for decent propaganda but is largely preaching to the choir, which doesn't include me. I was left unconverted.While I think Kirk Cameron is well-meaning, I also think he is misguided. Using the Puritans as an example of strong morals and religious tolerance is problematic. The strict piety of the Puritans was borderline Taliban-esque, and they were all for religious tolerance as long as it included only their religion. The documentary fails to mention that part of the reason the Puritans left Holland was because they felt the Dutch were too tolerant, and had difficulty co-existing with Jewish people. However, this is a bit of a digression.The film uses questionable and biased sources. The highlights are Todd "legitimate rape" Akin and David Barton, author of The Jefferson Lies, "the least credible book in print," according the the History News Network. Note that The Jefferson Lies is no longer in print, as the publisher withdrew the book citing lack of confidence in the book's details. Also heavily featured is one of the co-writers, "Dr." Marshall Foster, who serves as the film's historian. Foster's "doctorate" is not in history, but in Divinity. As a side note, I do consider a D.Div to be a legitimate degree, but not when it comes from Cathedral Bible College as his does, which as far as I can tell is an unaccredited degree mill.The production quality of the film is competent, but not spectacular.

Kirk Cameron has demonstrated that he is not only a committed performer, he is also a committed family advocate. The movie is not about family but it shows how the early American settlers and the forefathers of the Declaration of Independence thought about family, morality and what it takes to be a solid society. Unfortunately, due to Kirk Cameron's well known association with some Christian film productions, it is unlikely that this documentary appeal to a broad spectrum of the American public. This is truly unfortunate as it is a film that should be seen and even presented in schools for discussion.Some academics who are trying to protect their revisionist perspectives on early American history are clearly exposed by undeniable evidence. Not constructed or concocted evidence but clear historical evidence which can only be fully appreciated after seeing this documentary. I'm with Kirk Cameron, "as for me and my family...we choose..."

It's wonderful to be able to hear the TRUTH in history. We should all know how amazing our forefathers and founding fathers were. There is much that can be learned from history that impacts us even today. History does repeat itself and only fools don't learn from mistakes. EVERY Christian should see this film at least once. Even non-Christians should appreciate the history revealed within it and understand that morality is at the heart of survival. It's a much needed call to action for Americans. The future of our country and its inhabitants are at stake. There must be reformation or we will fall, as the mighty Roman Empire did.