'The Awful Truth' About America
Score at least one more vote for Kerry. Neither I nor anyone else in ultraliberal Seattle is going to pull a different lever this fall after seeing Fahrenheit 9/11.... If you hate Dubya already, you’ll hate him more after viewing Michael Moore’s latest op-ed documentary, which is obviously more of an indictment than a neutral account of the president’s election and subsequent response to 9/11. And I seriously doubt any area Bush supporters will line up for Fahrenheit; they’ll just wait for the Fox News review, feel outraged, then leave it at that.
Let's get this out of the way: "Fahrenheit 9/11" is a savagely partisan indictment of George W. Bush's presidency. It pulls no punches and has nothing nice to say about the commander in chief, whom director and professional rabble rouser Michael Moore portrays as venal, flip and box-of-rocks dumb. Supporters of the president will find this reprehensible. Detractors of the president will rub their hands with glee.
To the shock of absolutely no one, I'm certain, I saw "Fahrenheit 9/11" on Saturday. If you've read Michael Moore's "Dude, Where's My Country?" (I finished it 24 hours before seeing "Fahrenheit 9/11"), you'll have a pretty good idea of what you'll be seeing in the theater. To say that Moore's documentary is profoundly disturbing would be something of an understatement. Unless you're a hopelessly committed Bush True Believer (and if you are, you probably refused on principle to see the movie in the first place), "Fahrenheit 9/11" will quite probably leave you angry about the theft of our country. I know that I was, but rather than go off on some unfocused rant, I want to address some of the points the movie makes:
- After BushCo engineered the theft of the 2000 presidential election, members of the Congressional Black Caucus went before the Senate to dispute the validity of the election. All they needed was the signature of one member of the Senate- any member. Not one of the 100 members of the Senate would agree to put their signature on ANY of the petitions. Bush partisans must have found the irony of this moment particularly delicious, for presiding over the Senate that day was Vice-President Al Gore, who was forced to certify the theft of an election he had in fact won.
- When notified that the second plane had hit the World Trade Center on 9.11.01, Bush sat at a photo op in a Florida elementary school class room looking like a cow staring at a passing train- for seven minutes. It was as if he hadn't a clue about what to do next. With no one there to tell him what to do, perhaps he didn't. At a time when a little bit of leadership would have gone an awfully long ways, Bush was paralyzed with indecision. "War president"? Hardly. More like "deer caught in a headlight."
- Even after all civilian flights were grounded after 9.11.01, members of Osama bin-Laden's family in the US were gathered and flown out of the country without law enforcement officials been given an opportunity to interview them. Of course, given the long and close business ties between the Bush family and the bin-Ladens, one can perhaps understand why the bin-Ladens were hastily evacuated. Too many messy questions and difficult to control answers, and that would have no doubt have adversely impacted Bush's self-created image as a leader in the "war against terror".
- Not many people remember that the Taliban came to visit Texas in 1997, while George W. Bush was Governor. The tactics, philosophy, and brutality of the Taliban regime was as well-known then as it was prior to the American invasion of Afghanistan. Of course, there was money to be made, so ignoring the political realities- particularly the repression of women- was an easy thing to do. Nothing personal, you understand; it was about business.
- And what ARE we to make of the fact that, depite 15 of the 19 9.11 hijackers being Saudi nationals, BushCo still maintains a VERY tight relationship with the Saudi government? Given the very lucrative partnership between the Saudis and the Bush family over the years, it seems clear that the opportunity to make a buck trumps everything- including admitting to the reality that Saudis were largely responsible for 9.11 and 3000 murdered Americans. Prince "Bandar Bush" enjoys a relationship with BushCo that no other foreign diplomat enjoys. Why? It's the oil, stupid.
- Post-9.11, BushCo created a political environment in which dissension was not only discouraged, it was in some cases actively persecuted. Bush's support is based largely on fear- fear of terrorism (exploding floating beer coolers??), fear of losing one's job, fear of anything different, fear of THEM. As long as that fear can be manipulated and ratcheted up a notch or two when necessary, no one asks those uncomfortable questions, like "How do you plan on fixing the economy?" or "Why is it now considered unpatriotic to question the President?", or "Why does this country live in such a constant and yet unjustifiable state of fear?"
I could go on, but the damage should already have been done. Susan's reaction was enough for me: "As if I didn't already hate the man...." (and she wasn't talking about Michael Moore) This from one of the kindest, gentlest souls I know.
What impressed me most was that while Moore is known for being rather over the top at times, "Fahrenheit 9/11" was much more subdued and reasoned than I had expected. Sure, there were a couple things that I felt could and probably should have been toned down (e.g.- the "Bonanza" parody, f'rinstance), but in general the message was sound and well-presented. If nothing else, seeing the movie should raise some questions that we all should be asking ourselves prior to entering the voting booth in November.
It will come as no shock that I loved the movie. Given my Left-ward political leanings, I got what I expected, as did the vast majority of the audience, who applauded loudly at the end of the movie. Certainly, Moore was preaching to the choir, but I do believe that all of us need to see the movie. I don't expect it to change every mind, but there is certainly nothing wrong with asking questions. Or are you afraid of the answers that might be provided?
