I want to say this up front: I often find filmmaker Michael Moore to be a pain in the ass and I also find his opinions cringeworthy at times. But he is also taking on issues that border on taboo and that can mean having to cringe occasionally. If there were more like him we might be more open and less cringey about things.
Here is a great example: Celebrating the Prince of Peace in the Land of Guns
I have been nibbling at these issues for a while, but Moore does a great job at bringing them into a cohesive narrative. Small excerpt:
I’m not saying it’s perfect anywhere else, but I have noticed, in my travels, that other civilized countries see a national benefit to taking care of each other. Free medical care, free or low-cost college, mental health help. And I wonder — why can’t we do that? I think it’s because in many other countries people see each other not as separate and alone but rather together, on the path of life, with each person existing as an integral part of the whole. And you help them when they’re in need, not punish them because they’ve had some misfortune or bad break. I have to believe one of the reasons gun murders in other countries are so rare is because there’s less of the lone wolf mentality amongst their citizens. Most are raised with a sense of connection, if not outright solidarity. And that makes it harder to kill one another.
petebrunelli 