Michael Moore: Master of Propaganda
By Barbara Stock (07/08/04)
When “Fahrenheit 9/11” opened recently, most intelligent people knew this movie was nothing more than the world as seen from the warped perspective of Michael Moore. This “documentary” would be no more factual than his last movie, “Bowling for Columbine.” Perhaps it would be best to present the true definition of “documentary” to allow the average person to distinguish it from “propaganda.”
According to the Webster’s Dictionary: “Documentary: designation of a motion picture, television program, etc. that dramatically shows or analyzes news events, a social condition, etc. with no fictionalization or editorial comment.”
The opposite of documentary is the more accurate description of Michael Moore’s attempt at cinematic greatness. Propaganda is defined as the: “systematic, widespread dissemination or promotion of particular ideas or doctrines to further one’s own cause or to damage an opposing one; often used disparagingly to connote deception or distortion.” “Fahrenheit 9/11,” by definition, and Michael Moore’s own admission, is propaganda.
The most famous propagandist in history was Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s master of the media. A brief psychological description of Goebbels states that he was overwhelmed with contempt and disgust for the human race in general. Crippled from polio as a child, Goebbels was man consumed by hatred and bitterness. Goebbels saw the German people as ignorant fools and the Jew was merely a tool to use to convince the generally intelligent German people that they should follow Hitler in all things. Many did--right to their deaths.
Propaganda by itself is not dangerous. Television commercials are a form of propaganda. What makes propaganda dangerous is when reasonably intelligent people believe it without question. This seems to be the case with Michael Moore’s film epic. Reasonable and thoughtful people are viewing and accepting this montage called “Fahrenheit 9/11”--which is nothing more than distortions of the truth, vague and unsubstantiated innuendo, and personal opinion--as fact.
Who is Michael Moore? While Moore portrays himself as a poor white boy from the corporation-devastated streets of Flint, Michigan, he is not. He was born in Davison, Michigan, a fairly affluent suburb of Flint. He attended private, parochial schools until age 14 when he switched to the Davison Public High School. He was an over-achiever, obtaining an Eagle Scout merit badge for exposing the environmentally destructive factories in Flint. He ran for a seat on the Flint School Board at age 18 and won, becoming one the youngest men elected to public office in America. So far, so good.
Moore enrolled at the University of Michigan but dropped out to become a political activist. Michael got a job as a journalist a small newspaper called the Flint Voice and from there took a job as an editor at the highly liberal magazine in San Francisco, Mother Jones. Moore lasted less than a year. In an interesting twist, he was reportedly fired for arguing that an article pertaining to the Sandanista rebels in Nicaragua was inflammatory and inaccurate. There was a time when Moore cared about accuracy.
Moore briefly worked for Ralph Nader, but left that group under similar circumstances as all his previous jobs. It seems that Michael had problems in working with others. Moore set out to make his first movie, “Roger and Me,” and the rest is history.
It is not hard to recognize Moore as an equal-opportunity hater. All one has to do is listen to him speak. At a recent showing of his Bush-bashing film to the ACLU, he stunned the audience by damning the entire American political system. While his loathing of Bush was obvious and completely accepted by that crowd, he called the Democrats "a miserable, pathetic party that can't win an election even when they win an election." As John Kerry’s daughter sat dumbstruck in the crowd, Moore told a story of a screening for students where he asked all those planning to vote for Nader to raise their hands, and half the young voters put their hands up. Moore then declared that Nader "doesn't give a [expletive] about anybody but himself."
Moore doesn’t limit his disgust to just a few high profile Americans; he levels his contempt at all Americans. Moore told Katie Couric that Americans should aspire to be “more like Canadians.” Moore went on to say, “Our ethic in America is, ‘Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Every man for himself.’” Moore feels that Americans should stop being self-sufficient even though that trait has been part of the American culture since declaring independence and is perhaps the main reason for its success. He feels that this attitude leads to violence. Americans should be more dependent on government. That description fits perfectly, since Moore confessed to Bill O’Reilly that he is an avowed socialist.
Moore saves his best shots against his fellow Americans for when he is in Europe, where he is adored for his vocal loathing of his countrymen. In Germany, he mused that since America is full of such ignorant people, how could it be that such fools were able to rise to power? Moore laughed that Americans always have a “big a-- grin on our face all the time, because our brains aren't loaded down." He said that the American system is so flawed that Germany should never consider trying to copy it but stay on their correct socialist path.
Moore told a Cambridge reporter that all America is known for around the world is “bringing sadness and misery to places around the globe." In England, he told a reporter that Americans were possibly “the dumbest people on the face of the planet.” He shows his respect for our men and women in uniform by describing those killing our military people as “Iraqi Minutemen and freedom fighters.” He has also had his movie enthusiastically endorsed by Hezbollah and “Fahrenheit 9/11” will be shown in Syria and Lebanon. Both of these terrorist-ridden countries are sending jihadists into Iraq to kill American soldiers.
One of his gravest insults occurred not long after 9/11. Moore scoffed at the passengers on the doomed planes and called them cowards for not fighting back. He stated that had there been black people on those planes, they would have overpowered the hijackers. Moore never mentions the fact that there were Black Americans on those planes. He also overlooked the fact that the passengers on Flight 93 did fight back and sacrificed their lives to save others.
Michael Moore is also one the “American deserved it” crowd. Just days after 9/11 he stated, “We, the United States of America, are culpable in committing so many acts of terror and bloodshed that we better get a clue about the culture of violence in which we have been active participants.” Moore proclaimed in October, 2003, that “There is no terror threat in this country. This is a lie. It's the biggest lie we have been told.” He states that Americans should not allow Bush to use 9/11 to make America a police state where no one is allowed to speak freely. As Moore rakes in millions of bucks from his flight into fantasy, his freedom of speech does not seem to be hindered in any way.
Michael Moore enjoys all the advantages of living and working in America but claims to be a socialist disgusted by the very capitalistic society that allowed him to become successful. Moore dresses like a refugee but lives in a 1.9 million dollar Manhattan apartment and owns an estate in Michigan.
Before “Fahrenheit 9/11”--a title he stole from a furious Ray Bradbury--opened in American theaters, Moore was proclaiming that it would be his instrument to remove George Bush from office. The propagandist claimed he would show all the evils of the present administration in such a way that even hard-core conservatives would vote against Bush. Michael Moore--socialist, millionaire, America-hater, and master of propaganda--wants to decide who should be America’s leader.
It remains to be seen if Americans are as gullible as the German people were before World War II. Early indications are not good. America’s only hope may be that many will wake up from propaganda-induced coma they seem to have embraced, in time to make an intelligent vote in November based on facts and not the opinion of a man who feels Americans are all ignorant fools. The ghost of Joseph Geobbels must be smiling at the success of his best protégé in decades. Perhaps Germany can still win WWII--without firing a shot.
This writer recommends the reading of the David Kopel article: “Fifty-nine Deceits in ‘Fahrenheit 911'" - http://www.davekopel.org/Terror/Fiftysix-Deceits-in-Fahrenheit-911.htm
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