[Peace-discuss] Less is Moore

[C. G. Estabrook]

[The subject line is (almost) from a Victorian writer, and another provides what 
seems to me the proper judgment on the appended: "The truth lies atween you: 
you're both right and both wrong..."  --CGE]


	An Open Letter to Democracy Now!
	No More Michael Moore
	By SANDY MAYES

Dear Democracy Now!,

After giving myself the day to cool off, I just revisited Michael Moore's 
segment on today's show and find that I'm still as outraged over it as I was 
when I heard it this morning.

I have a hard time understanding why the Left in general, and Democracy Now! in 
particular, regards Michael Moore to be a credible or meaningful voice of 
progressive causes. This morning, he made some pretty strong yet obvious 
observations about the general state of things but, as usual, he didn't really 
add any new information or analysis. Not really anything any number of us might 
have been able to come up with.

If that alone is enough for people get a charge out of listening to him, I would 
normally have no particular beef with it. But when he launches in to an ugly, 
baseless, ad hominem rant, then I have a problem.

On the show today, Democracy Now! played a video clip of Moore and Bill Maher 
ambushing and humiliating Ralph Nader by kneeling in front of him and begging 
him to withdraw his candidacy for President on Maher's TV show in 2004.

One might have hoped that Moore would use this as an opportunity to publicly 
apologize for that shameful display. But instead he used it as a forum to 
further elevate himself as the True Grassroots Champion of the people. He is 
after all the Star of his own commercially successful “documentaries” and often 
appears on TV stating his opinions, while Ralph Nader, despite a lifetime of 
activism, and spearheading innumerable non-profit organizations, and exposing 
the corruption of our political process through his presidential campaigns is 
—according to Moore— merely a “poser” who “likes to hear himself talk.”

"And, you know, unlike Ralph, I guess maybe I’m not in this for just to say it 
so I can hear myself talk or to be some—or to take some poser position. And I 
hope that doesn’t sound too harsh, but I don’t see him ever working with the 
grassroots or with the people or being in touch with the people in any way, 
shape or form.

"Ralph’s approach is, put his name on the ballot and run for office. Where are 
we as a result of that? I don’t—you know, I don’t see us anywhere other than in 
the same pitiful state we’ve been in for some time.”

By that flawed logic, considering the “pitiful state we’re in,” anything ANY of 
us has EVER done has been a complete waste of time – including Michael Moore.

Again, Moore’s rant against Nader was ugly, baseless ad hominem. And as is so 
often the case with Moore, it was self-serving, intellectually lazy, and 
reckless. There should be no place for that on Democracy Now! or anywhere in 
serious progressive media.

Sincerely,

Sandy Mayes lives in Olympia, Washington.


http://www.counterpunch.org/mayes03252010.html

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