Moore is Less

Outside of President Bush, there is no more polarizing man (right now) in the US then Michael Moore. I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 about a week after it came out. It is an interesting film that will get a reaction out of anybody. The other Moore film I have seen was "Bowling for Columbine" which I enjoyed and found to actually be a documentary that was certainly deserving of an oscar. F 9/11 gave me a different reaction. Many have called the film propaganda--certainly true, but for me it was one giant hate-fest for the grand old party and rich people; the manifestation of both being President Bush.

Moore is extremely good at what he does, playing to emotions of hate, anger, and envy. F 9/11 summed up to me as, "Bush is a rich, lying, thief who you should hate just as much as I do." I'm not going to even bother going into the details of bin laden's family never really being allowed out of the country by Bush or the 9/11 commission, the senate investigation, and the British investigation clearly stating Bush did not lie but was given bad information which he acted on. For Moore that matters little, the important thing is that he energizes liberals for this upcoming election and maybe even sway a few independents.

What is scary is the hero Michael Moore has become to so many liberals. I mean honestly, do democrats like John Kerry? Sure some may actually like the man, but most democrats voted for Kerry because they thought he was the most electable (which I disagree with, I found Edwards a much more appealing candidate for moderates and independents) and not because they were impressed with Kerry. The dems have become the "Anybody but Bush" party. For this reason democrats have gravitated toward Moore. They like him because he's a fighter, intelligent sounding, and funny. The problem is they don't only like him, but they believe everything he says and spread his lies to those they know. As much as President Bush has hurt the unity of this country with his action, Michael Moore has intensified that disunity even more with his words and his film.

As I sat in that movie theater watching F 9/11 end with Bush stumbling over his words in a speech, I wondered to myself what everyone around me thought about the movie. My question was quickly answered with cheering and clapping. I could only smile and think, "Is this nation ever going to recover from the deep seeded hate?" Unfortunately I don't think we will; well not as long as people like Michael Moore continue take Machiavellian means to their ends.