In a recent town hall-style meeting at George Washington University, Michael Moore made an appearance to support his new movie, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” which was released on Friday, Oct. 2.
At the forum, Moore spoke extremely passionately about the topic of capitalism and discussed with the audience how they could make change happen.
“I’m tired of dancing around this problem,” Moore said.
Though Moore was at times extremely blunt and firm in his standing, it was obvious that he cared deeply about the American people and that he wanted to fix this injustice and save the millions of people who were victimized. Moore said he handles the issues he covers in a specific way.
“I do it with truth, and I will never say ‘hate,’” Moore said. “I have never said ‘hate.’ I will never say, ‘I hate George Bush,’ because I don’t hate him.”
Considering the fact that there are people such as radio personality Rush Limbaugh who have wished Moore death over nationally broadcast airwaves, that’s a pretty big contrast.
Moore’s film is an attempt to rally people and give them the tools to change the system. First, Moore said that we have to get involved and learn the truth about what is going on — to look to alternative forms of the news, like online British newspapers that are looking in at the United States from the outside. Then we need to get organized, turn off “Dancing With the Stars” and be loud. Moore was very apt at speaking to the college crowd and encouraged the audience to be the ones that make changes happen and fix the mistakes of the past. For instance, he said that he believed it was unfair for CEOs to make as much money as they do.
“Everyone needs to get a fair slice of the pie,” Moore said. “Not an equal slice, but a fair slice.”
Moore spoke strongly about how much he loves America and he wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. However, he said, Moore does believe that there are things that other countries do better — not only with health care, which he thinks the United States should model after the systems that have effectively been in place in other countries for the past 50 years. Moore reiterated that the main reason for home foreclosure is medical bills, emphasizing that health care reform reached wider than just people’s health, but also their entire lives.
“It is immoral to throw someone out on the curb because they get sick, and every other civilized country recognizes that,” Moore said.
Before he left the stage, Moore listed a few solutions for our current situation, but only immediate fixes or “band aids,” as he called them. First, he wants President Barack Obama to declare a temporary memorandum against foreclosure today, letting people stay in their homes while the government deals with the economy. Second, he wants a bill passed for government health care. Third, Moore wants free HBO for everyone. And fourth, Moore thinks we should have looser copyright and sharing laws.
“I can share a book, but not music,” Moore said. “People shouldn’t steal, but share.”
As Moore made his final remarks, he said it was good that people question him and his movies, because the public should always be questioning everything they hear and demanding the answers.
