When you look at the United States today, the country feels like it is more bitterly divided than at any other time in recent history. It feels like it is more divided even than it was during the tumultuous decade of the 1960's and, perhaps, even more divided than it was in the turbulent couple of years following the September 11th attacks, particularly during the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq in March of 2003.
That was a dark time in this country's history.
Looking back now, it does not feel like that was really when this whole Red versus Blue divide began. Nor was it on September 11th itself, obviously, since that was one of the few times in modern history when the country was a bit more unified in response to something.
No, the moment that it started was the 2000 election. I was a young man still at that point, just having turned 26. There were a lot of things going on in my life back then. I had recently been married, was working almost full-time hours while trying to finish up my requirements to obtain a Bachelor's Degree at Rutgers University.
Yet, I remember those times, and that election, very well.
Sometimes, it feels like it was a long, long time ago. Certainly, when I look at how I was still in my mid-twenties, then still newly married and without child yet, and before I even got my college degree, it feels like a long, long time ago.
However, when I examine the circumstances surrounding the country, and the ascension of George W. Bush to the White House, it feels actually like it was quite recent. Perhaps it is because some of the things which began then - controversial and polarized elections which take some time to fully sort through, power grabs by an administration in the White House, world reaction to what as going on in the United States ranging between disgust, outrage, and horror, and of course evidence of the bitter domestic political divide which was then just beginning to be a still new yet inescapable reality in our country - it actually does not feel long ago at all.
In fact, much of it still sometimes feels surprisingly relevant right to the present day. We need to pay more attention to when things just clearly seem off with either our elections or, frankly, our elected rulers. We also need to pay attention to corporate supremacy, which during the Bush years began to run rampant, even dictating our foreign policy when it came to oil and no-bid contracts during the Iraq war. Just participating in an election these days seems like being active and involved in the process for many people, since voter turnout in election after election seems to be alarmingly low. But we need to do far more, at least if we want to maintain at least a pretense that we live in and care about our democracy.
This movie is a reminder of all of that. It reminds us of the dangers of what happens when a brainwashed nation - and let's not pretend that most of this nation, both on the left and on the right - are brainwashed. This movie really makes arguing that point a moot point. After all, it was both Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as the majority of the nation at one point, which supported empowering President George W. Bush to launch the invasion and start the war in Iraq. In fact, opposition to the war was systematically equated with being weak and even sympathizing with terrorists.
Pathetic.
Here, we get Michael Moore's opinions, true. But we also get priceless video clips which reveal the facts, and much of the truth that was going on in the country at the time. From the shady aspects of the 2000 election which leave a bad taste in the mouth of anyone who truly supports American democracy - especially in light of how clearly fragile that democracy is, or at least has become - in the years since, only questions arise. Given that George W. Bush lost the popular election, and that he needed all of that help in Florida (which he received from his brother, who was governor and allegedly oversaw the fairness of the election, to a Supreme Court friendly to him and his father.
It felt outrageous at the time. Now, watching this movie in hindsight, it feels like the first alarm bells to wake the American people up to what might happen if we were not careful came at around this time, with strong opposition to the Iraq war. It turned into a quagmire, and was a disaster for this country, particularly in terms of foreign policy. The war which the Bush administration promised we would win quickly and decisively instead turned into a bloody affair in which we had no exit strategy, just as opponents of the war warned. And it ended up being the second longest war that the United States had ever engaged in, with the conflict in Afghanistan - which we fought simultaneously with this war - being the longest.
What a disaster. But it is good to remind ourselves of these things, to remember our history. And to better understand that the power struggles and bitter - some might suggest toxic, with a measure of validity - political atmosphere currently in the United States, we really should watch movies like this to understand that these problems did not simply arise out of nowhere.
We should collectively have paid much closer attention at the time, and scrutinized the intentions of a transparently power-hungry administration at the time. It seems clear that we have not really learned from our mistakes. Maybe getting back closer to the roots of it all can help us appreciate the trouble that we have allowed ourselves to get into in the present day.
Highly recommended!
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