"I come from the way of thinking called leftist. It was something very important in my training. Now I don't know, the only thing I know is that my dialogue - sometimes my discussion - is with them (the intellectuals of the left). I don't have much to talk about with the others."
-(Braulio Peralta. El poeta en su tierra. Dia'logos con Octavio Paz. Ed. Grijalbo. Mexico, 1996, p. 45).
Reflecting on Macrosocio Paradigms: Á la Moore
Many right wing fundamentalist might argue that Michael Moore was looking to piss people off when he published “Stupid white Men”. The collective left perhaps feels that he was shedding light on a system gone bad and right out injustices suffered at the hands of those in power. I say he was doing both. Is this book a Weapon in the Culture Wars? You betcha! Lines like, “But let me ask you this: if you have trouble comprehending the complex position papers you are handed as the Leader of the Mostly-Free World, how can we entrust something like our nuclear secrets to you?”, (p. 37) in reference to George W. Bush, are clearly aimed at pissing off a few, and enlightening the masses. The public opinion tug of war is a difficult one. At a time when the wealthy elite are pillaging the Middle East, Affirmative Action, and civil liberties are in question. Moore’s work serves as a definite moral booster for team Left.
On page one, of the introduction alone, Moore mentions Jed Bush, George W. Bush, the DOW, attacks the legitimacy of the Appointed Commander-in-Chief, hints at rising gas prices, energy scarcity in the sate of California, possibility of war with Russia or China, and the rise and fall of the dot-coms. How have the working class allowed conditions to get this bad? What ever happened to the idea of strength in numbers? In case you forgot we have it, it includes the power of vote and the ability get off our behinds and doing something towards the process of change. We however live in a world of corrupt systems, stolen public offices, and whining taxpayers that do absolutely nothing to ensure change. A good majority would rather sit back, not vote and wait to see who the president elect turns out to be on election night, as they use their voter registration cards to pick the ten hours worth of grudge accumulated under their finger nails, at a whooping $5.50 an hour.
Michael Moore, choose to title his book “Stupid White Men”. Seven years ago, I would have found this oxymoron of a title confusing. Based on my education, ignorance, individualist world view, and surrounding power structures, I would have immediately considered such a title as compleatly ironic. How can you blamed me? Traditionally it has been "white" men who have held dominance of global markets and resources due to a legacy of genocide and colonialism. So, I will have to disagree that "stupid" may actually have anything to do with it. Perhaps “power hungry” might have been more appropriate. After all is It not gluttony and the hoarding of capital and resources that serves as this blindfold towards worldly injustice?
In reality this title refers to is the rich one percent that control global goods and I assure you that this age old streotype will be neither gender or racially specific in the future, as the Colin Powells, Gale Nortons and C. Rices catch up and claim their stake. It is ultimately the working class of the world’s responsibility to come together and take action against our historical sins of omission.
Why read this book
We should all read this book primarly, because its about time that we begin to take an active responsible role in the overall shaping of our beloved and seperated America and pave new roads for a future one. This is especially true for those of you who can vote.
I myself have a non-citizen status. I have what is called a "naturalization" card, an unnatural privilege for many foreign workers now living in the United States. This allows me many of the perks that American citizens have minus the right to vote. Therefore, I am burdened by the inability to voice my opinion in the form of a vote yet at times feel alleviated at not having to try and decipher which party is in fact most liberal, progressive, or sadly enough truthful. And so, the age old question of who will better serve the people remains an open one for you, the voter. Especially now, during these militant times. Who will you pick the gluttonous elephant or the Gucci decked donkey? I never really liked politics or petting zoos, to tell you the truth, so my stands take the form of whining, and an occasional rally.
Does this make me a better American despite, the fact that I have not one, but four new pairs of Nikes in the closet, probably assembled by four year olds in some far away country and at times crave a MacDonald’s cup of coffee, in a Styrofoam cup, and a bacon MacMuffin from steroid-enhanced pig/chicken farms, which probably produced millions of gallons of waste now surfacing on the Mississippi, all packed in a twenty percent recycled material paper bag? My guess your answer is no, but the adoption of a greater obtuse world view and my willingness to voice these opinions is a start. Where are yours? When/ where does the change start?
All rights reserved 2004. Please refrain from plagiarizing or using my material with out permission or without the appropriate use of quotation marks and referencing.
Leave a comment