The Temperature Is Rising

Fahrenheit 9/11 is creating a tremendous amount of controversy, which is exactly what its creator, Michael Moore, intended. It will be the first movie of its kind that will become mainstream and will probably be the biggest money grossing documentary ever, along with the most widely viewed and distributed. In fact, I would not be surprised if it becomes the highest grossing film of the year, which in my opinion, would be a very good thing for our country and our democracy.

The movie is undoubtedly politically motivated and biased, yet it is factual. Michael Moore has decided to highlight the well known, as well as not so well known, information (factual & documented) about President Bush and his administration that many Americans either don't know or have been willing to ignore. Yet, after viewing the movie, its hard to deny the facts about President Bush and his administration. And, to be fair, it also shows alot about how the political process operates and is controlled by the rich and powerful. The movie highlights lots of what is wrong with the US political system and what is wrong within our society. And thats not partisan, it is unfortunately, very American, very bipartisan, and it clearly needs to be examined and changed.

Marines protecting oil workers get paid $40,000/year while Halliburton employees they are protecting earn $100,000/year. Soldiers get recruited from poor and run down neighborhoods in order to be sent to war to protect the priveleged. Troops don't know what they are fighting and killing people for and are having their lives changed permenantly for a cause that is unclear. Huge amounts of money are being spent in other countries to wage war and rebuild the embattled cities, when there is critical need for resources in the homeland. Our political system seems to operate with impunity and very few checks and balances, when that is what the system is supposed to be founded upon. These and other problems are highlighted throughout the movie, yet the main focus of debate is the political attack on President Bush.

Yes Michael Moore highlights how stupid and foolish President Bush is. Yes Michael Moore points out how much he relies on his advisors. Yes Michael Moore shows how much time he spends fishing, golfing, skeet shooting, and not being very Presidential. And yes Michael Moore points out all the cronyism within the Bush administration. But thats not Michael Moores fault, its President Bushs' fault. If the President wants to project a better image than he should read more, take an English course, have more 'unrelated' advisors & cabinet members, and spend more time being a President than a sportsman. Don't blame Michael Moore for showing you how the President acts or spends his time, blame the President.

I think what bothers us most about Fahrenheit 9/11 is the portrayal of the President who we as a country 'elected'. Therefore we are responsible for him being in power and that is a very poor reflection on us personally. It bothers us that we hired this guy and we haven't fired him yet, even though he is a stupid loaf and is doing a very bad job. Forget that he marched us to War under false pretense. Nothing Michael Moore has done makes Bush act the way he does. Moore just shows it to us in a clear and unflattering way. I am not sure it can be shown in anything other than an unflattering way. Bush is just plain embarrassing. If that was your child or husband, would you be proud? I wouldn't be.

What is the most alarming about the movie is the horror of the War that now seems based on a deception of the American people and Congress. We were tricked into believing that the War was necessary to protect the US homeland from a nuclear attack. Michael Moore does make some inferrences throughout the movie that are questionable, but nothing that every viewer doesn't think as they watch the movie and/or reflect on the past 2 years. War is ugly and sometimes there is no alternative. This War was not mandatory.

With regards to Iraq, there clearly was no necessity and there were alternatives. Now we as a country are stuck in a very bad situation that was decided upon and created by President Bush. He chose this and we have to live with it, personally and as a country even after he is out of office. It is not affecting him, his family, or his life. And, in fact, it makes his presidency relevant and important. It is actually helping him, his family, and his friends. At the same time it is destroying lives, American credibilty around the world, and financial resources. It is also inciting anti-Americanism around the world, something that could take decades to repair and will have immeasurable consequences, including more terrorism against Americans.

And what does President Bush say about all this..."Bring it on". "We will not leave Iraq until the job is done." "The War on Terror is moral and I must protect the American people." "Fool me once, shame on...uh, you. Fool me twice, shame on uh, ..." When you see the movie you will judge for yourself who is to blame. Michael Moore is certainly not the one to blame for the the last 3 years of the Bush presidency.