I don’t admire Michael Moore, but I respect him for one thing.
- March 10th, 2010
- By Thomas Olaes
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When I first encountered Michael Moore, it was through his documentary Farenheit 911. I was disgusted at the whole thing, really… I don’t remember much about it because I saw it years ago (at work during a mid-shift, no less), but it seemed like he focused on the seedy underbelly of government what with the aggressive profiling USMC recriters, or the supposed hypocrisy of the Senate for favoring war while allegedly being very far removed from the fight. I really don’t like Michael Moore. When there was a Google-bomb set up to link the word “Failure” to Pres. Bush, I joined the opposition that was linking the word “Failure” to Michael Moore. I personally think he is irrationally vitriolic and quite divisive.
I have no qualms, however, with his beliefs. It’s not that I share them, but as my friend Lorenzo told me many years ago, in America, “you have the right to be wrong.” I love this country primarily for that reason. As of today, I can walk down the street with a big sign saying “OBAMA SUCKS” or “OBAMA IS AWESOME.” It would be absurd, but I won’t go to jail for it. The presidential death squad won’t execute me for being an ideological enemy of the nation. I won’t get jailed by the local justice system that may disagree with whatever I’m yelling about. I can be wrong and protest about it, but that’s fine… it’s my right. This is why I love this country.
And this takes me to why I’m writing this note right now. I was reading his latest open letter to the President (President Obama, Replace Rahm With Me: An Open Letter From Michael Moore, it happened to pop up in my visit to news.google.com). It dawned on me that as much as I dislike Michael Moore, I appreciated how he fought for what he believed in… I respect him that much. That’s a quality that I want more within myself. But my focus right now is on the 36 pages of comments that are attached to this article. Alot of them cheer for this guy like he’s their savior… my question is, what do these people do on their own to fight for what they believe in? Mr. Moore isn’t just a loud-mouthed asshole, he does research (I know… it’s very little, and the results are questionable)… but what about the thousands of people that share his views? If you’re going to be a far-left radical, you might need to get some discussion going. You shouldn’t believe in a position, you should know it’s right because you did the research. Alot of people today say they “believe” in stuff. They “believe” in the constitution. They “believe” in global warming. There’s alot of faith put into Rush Limbaugh, megachurches, government, the effectiveness of universal healthcare, the words from CNN, MSNBC, and FOXNews (or Faux News, as some may call it). It’s not just the common public, but the 21st century version of the yellow press does it to a lesser extent as well.
My point is this, who’s showing up to the town hall meetings for the community? Who’s running for office? Only the most hardcore of devotees to the community who actually give a damn enough to take time out of their lives to work for the public in jobs like town mayor, congress(wo)man, etc. These people find a platform, be it public office, music, TV, film, or just a literal soapbox on the literal street, literally. You keep looking to a savior. I don’t normally finger-wag the general public, but I made the decision a few days ago that I would remove the filters from my brain to my blog, so here goes. If you’re looking for a savior to rescue you/your community/your state/your nation, you need to look in the mirror, because that’s who’s going to do it. Assholes like Michael Moore and Rush Limbaugh are two sides of the same coin, and who’s to say you can’t become that asshole as well?? You literally have the power, even more so than He-man had “the power”. You can form words using your lungs, vocal box, tongue, and lips, and you can’t get into trouble for it! If the white supremacists movement can still hold rallies under a Black president, then you can speak on abortion, gay marriage, illegal immigration, health care, etc. and not worry about repercussions.
But don’t worry, ladies and gentlemen. I have a plan for all of us. I’m going to figure out how Joe Bag-o-Donuts can self-initiate off the ass he sits on (much like I do now) and become an effective contributor to deciding the direction of this Nation. Then you don’t need to look to assholes to speak out on your behalf… you can do it for yourself.
You can be your own savior.
-TJ