Michael Moore, Fahrenheit 11/9

Postcard from the Busch farm, July 10, 1911

We went to Fahrenheit 11/9 this afternoon at our neighborhood theater in Woodbury.

Absolutely, see it.  Likely Fahrenheit 11/9 is playing at a theater near you, and I think it is already available on-line.

It nicks everyone, not the least, the 100,000,000 people who chose not to vote at all in 2016.

President Obama doesn’t escape unscathed….

A few personal thoughts “below the fold”:

*

I’ve been a fan of Michael Moore since Roger and Me (1989).  The year before Bowling for Columbine was released in 2002 we saw a 20 minute preview segment of that film, introduced by Michael Moore himself.  That winter evening, he was an hour late.  Still, there was so much interest that they filled the large church a second time.

I think I’ve seen all of the Michael Moore films.  Fahrenheit 11/9 is the best of the lot.  I didn’t know how my wife would react.  She had the same response as I.  The film grabbed us and held on.  You could hear a pin drop in the theater.

There is a villain in the film and it is every one of us.  There is also a hero in the film: potentially it is also every one of us.  We are the government we respect…or revile.

I was looking for “over the top” moments – I was most nervous about what I’d heard about the comparison with Nazi Germany.  What comparison there was in the film – and there were and are direct comparisons – were highly appropriate.  We are, after all, theoretically a democracy, and the people ultimately bear responsibility for the people we elect, and the decisions our elected leaders make.

We are, I feel, too much a nation of “me” folks, demanding what we want – our personal priorities.  We deserve our fate.  Our future, long term, is not bright if we stay the present course.

We must be a nation of US, as in collective “we”.

Since our leaders are elected by ourselves.  Who votes for them, or for their opponent, or who doesn’t vote at all for any reason, makes a huge difference.  If we end up with tyranny, we are the ones who so decide that course.

Far too much, Trump has become the face and voice and attitude of America to everyone, everywhere.

Fahrenheit 11/9 gives a great deal to think about.  The film was not entertainment, it was education.

See Fahrenheit 11/9.  Do yourself a favor.

And ask yourself, what does this say to me about my own role in this country of ours?