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Michael Moore is a working class schlub who has no pretensions or affectations making him seek to be intellectually superior, morally superior, or politically better than anyone else. Those qualities, however, do come out in spades in the people who attack him.
The good thing about working class people and their roots is that they can see reality for what it is and think well about it.
Take the issue of gun control for example. If so many guns were not available to kids, would we see so many homicides and killings of young people? No, we wouldn't. A fist fight is much less likely to kill or do permanent damage than a gun.
Take the issue of the Bush family-Saudi-bin Laden history. That is something that needed to be explored and looked at, especially in light of certain facts that show how this connection led to certain actions and events which make the causes of 911 more of a question than an answer.
Much more harmful and dangerous to public discourse and informed opinion are pseudo-intellectuals and "proper" conservatives like William F. Buckley, George Will, Tucker Carlson, Pat Buchanan, Robert Novak, and the gang of presstitutes that make up Faux News and other cable news channels. The movie Outfoxed deals with this problem very well.
Of course, if sometimes our intellectual and educational sensitivities need a bit of massaging with highly educated and lettered individuals speaking to important issues, then we can always find great speeches and conversations on C-SPAN2 and sometimes on PBS. I'm sure there are some good online sites that show good thinking and information as well.
Just today, on C-SPAN2, I saw Kenneth Pollack answering viewers' call-in comments and questions regarding the historical role of the USA and the CIA in the ME. Callers were very informed and thoughtful in giving their views, and Pollack was very respectful in answering them... so I learned a lot.
Then the moderator of a national Social Studies conference had a question and answer session between the audience and two university professors who are working together to create a public dialogue between Jews and Muslims: Professor Judea Perle (father of recently slain journalist Daniel Perle) and Professor Akbar Ahmed of American University. What they are doing is transcending the violence and kneejerk need for revenge to create a conversation between people of different faiths and cultures in order to dispel the stereotypes and falsehoods generated mostly by media and propaganda. It was beautiful to see, and again, I learned a great deal.
For me, it's all a learning experience. I want the best thinkers helping me inform my ideas and opinions, and I do not care what class these thinkers come from, or what their educational background is. Sometimes it's Michael Moore; other times it's lettered scholars like Judea Perle and Akbar Ahmed. As long as the person speaking to me shows human and rational thinking, I'm listening and learning.
Are there any other shows I can watch or sites I can visit to get good thinking and info?
Sue
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