Yesterday E and I went and saw Fahrenheit 9/11. First let me say that Michael Moore is a brilliant filmmaker. He knows exactly how to manipulate your emotions and get to you feel and believe exactly what he wants you to. He is very, very good at it. Whether or not you agree with the points he is making, you have to give him credit for that. It's a film that is completely one sided, and makes no bones about it.
Now, I happen to agree with him on a lot of the points he was making. Yes, he did a lot to make Bush and his cronies look like fools, which was funny. (Though it would have been just as easy to make Clinton look like as much of a fool. I recognize that.) There were times when he simplified the points; drew direct connections that I don't think were necessarily that cut and dry. And sure, his detractors have every right to complain about those points. And I worry about folks who will see the movie and swallow it all, hook, line and sinker, and take it all for the gospel truth. For blind believers on either extreme are the dangerous ones.
But I don't believe that was the point. At least, it wasn't the point that I got. And it wasn't why I went to see it. And it's not why I am searching for ways to take action now.
There are points that Moore made that cannot be refuted. People died. People are dying. It is heart wrenching to watch the grief of the soldiers' families. It's horrible that our young soldiers are being killed. But you know what? Their grief is nothing compared to what we are doing the Iraqis. Not only have those poor people lost their loved ones; they have lost their homes. Their way of life. All sense of security. All sense of control over their lives. We cannot even begin to fathom what it must be like to live over there right now.
Yes, they lived under a horrible political regime. Saddam Hussein is an evil man. I don't think anyone can argue against that. But there are so many every day, normal people that are paying the cost for that now. It's as if Iowa got completed bombed and destroyed to pay for what Bush has done to the US and the world. Where is the justice in that?
I walked out of that movie feeling sick. You can get all Machiavellian and say the ends justify the means; that Iraq is better off without Saddam in power. But that is bullshit. And that was the other point Moore was making. We are not there because of the loving heart of America. It's not to put a stop to the human rights violations. Or to pull a 3rd world country out of poverty and despair. Or even to secure the safety of the world. We are there because a small group of people stands to make a lot of money from it. Plain and simple. And that is what makes me sick. That is what makes me ashamed to be an American.
I walked out of that movie yesterday and felt helpless. What can I do to stop what is going on? What can I do to help the people in Iraq and Afghanistan? I don't know. You can bet your bottom dollar I'm going to vote in November (I always do). But so what? That seems so little.
I joined the ACLU this morning. While I don't agree with everything they do and stand for, I agree with a lot of it. I often find that they get in the way, making mountains out of molehills. And I do believe that there are a very small number of crimes that do warrant the death penalty (though I don't agree with the way it is currently handled and that there are too many people on death row that don't deserve to be there). But I also think that they are an organization that has a hope of affecting change in the face of the whole Homeland Security mess. Which is why I joined.
I'm not sure what else to do. Part of me says there isn't anything that I can do to help the Iraqis. But I can do something here. I need to volunteer at homeless shelters. Battered women's clinics. Continue to donate blood. It's easy to get indignant over what you see on the screen that is going on over there. All the while forgetting what is going on right down the street. I'm not in a position to hop on a plane and go over to the Middle East. Or Africa. Or South America. Or Asia. (Though part of me asks why not?) So what can I do to help bring about concrete improvements now? I'm not sure. But I'll find something.
