Editorial:

A new power in the land

As the US election draws closer presidential hopefuls Bush and 
Kerry are crisscrossing the United States spending tens of 
millions of dollars attempting to sell themselves as the best 
servant of the people, best economic manager and most able to 
ensure the security of the country. Yet it is another person — 
not a candidate — who is poised to have a decisive influence on 
the outcome of the presidential election.

He is Michael Moore. His latest film Fahrenheit 9/11 is 
playing to packed houses and leaving audiences infuriated at the 
Bush administration and determined to do something about it. By 
that they mean "throw it out".

The response to Michael Moore's documentary shows that millions 
of Americans are craving truthful information, and when that 
truth is revealed it becomes a powerful catalyst spurring the 
people into taking follow-up action.

The first move was to prevent the film being shown. Disney had 
been contracted to distribute the film by the Disney-owned 
distribution agency Miramax. But when the film was completed they 
tried to prevent its public release.

"The basic belief system [of the right-wing] is built on 
censorship, repression, and keeping people ignorant. They want to 
limit or snuff out any debate or dissension. They also don't like 
pets and are mean to small children", commented Michael Moore.

But even by this stage the public's demand for the truth was so 
strong that Disney backed down and "sold" the film to Mirax 
Executive Producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein.

Then a Republican PR firm formed a group called "Move America 
Forward". It intimidated several companies into backing away from 
distributing the film and then threatened theatres with boycotts 
and demonstrations if they dared screen it.

It revealed what many people suspected — that the authorities 
depend on banning points of view not to their liking, and when 
threats of banning do not work they will resort to straight out 
lies. If all these methods do not work they will even resort to 
assassination to silence the truth — as the thousands of corpses 
of activists, trade unionists and government leaders across South 
America and elsewhere around the world will testify.

Yet all the difficulties were overcome — the film is now rolling 
and all America is talking about it. Many are writing letters 
which reveal Michael Moore's recipe for success. "The film's most 
effective tactic is the use of self-incriminating archival 
footage — such as clips of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice 
declaring Iraq militarily impotent before September 2001", wrote 
one correspondent. "Much of the film is what our White House 
leaders have said themselves", said another. "At the end, the 
sold-out audience stood up and clapped".

In response to the allegation that the film is antagonistic to 
American troops in Iraq one correspondent writes, "I left the 
movie theatre feeling more support, sympathy and respect for our 
troops in Iraq than I have since the beginning of this whole 
fiasco". The correspondent continues: "[The] film makes it clear 
that these are real people whose lives are being ruined and lost; 
real mothers crying real tears when they bury their kids; real 
soldiers who come home with arms and legs missing only to find 
veterans' benefits cut and Veterans Affairs hospitals overcrowded 
and understaffed".

Tom Durkin of Columbia writes: "It is a powerful movie — 
powerfully patriotic, powerfully in support of our troops and 
powerfully critical of the reasons the troops were stuck in 
harm's way".

Another correspondent writes: "There is no real patriotism in 
blindly following or believing in our leaders. The world has too 
often seen the horrific results of power unchallenged. Lies, told 
repeatedly, are still lies, and protest, documented with ample 
evidence, is always patriotic".

A writer from Virginia Beach says: "To my amazement, living in a 
military and religious community, there was thunderous applause 
at the conclusion of the movie".

Michael Moore has become a power in the US (and not only the US) 
because he tells it as it is, he presents the leaders speaking 
their lies, misleading and tricking the people into supporting 
their nefarious objectives. He shows the people as the real 
heroes, misled and confused perhaps, but magnificent in their 
courage and good sense.