Posted on 04/03/2002 7:52:52 AM PST by jalisco555
Jonah Goldberg has referred to Michael Moore, who is speaking to Cornellians today, as a professional idiot. And this phrase is quite possibly the best way to describe his motives and actions. Put simply, he has earned millions of dollars by concocting creative ways to act foolish.
With the possible exception of Jerry Falwell, he is the best-known professional idiot in the country. But whereas Falwell keeps busy accusing popular children's TV characters of being homosexual, Moore has other interests. He keeps busy spouting mercantilist trade theory that has not been given any serious academic credence since the days of the Corn Laws, and arguing for an employment system that has not existed since the days of Soviet Russia.
Were this another type of speaker, even one advocating for similar extreme policies, it would be possible to debate his arguments, finding areas of agreement and points of contention. But historically with Moore, such sensible consideration is impossible. He rants, raves, and carries on -- producing an impressive volume of word-space but little substance or actual argumentation. And while it is difficult to consolidate the collective sum of Moore's foolishness into one column, here are a few notable examples.
The day after Sept. 11, Moore wrote a column blaming America's previous actions for causing the attack. Though he did reserve at least some blame for the terrorists, much of his indignation was centered on how the terrorists killed 3,000 liberal voters (and not 3,000 innocent individuals). According to his daily posting, "if someone did this to get back at Bush, then they did so by killing thousands of people who DID NOT VOTE for him! Boston, New York, D.C., and the planes' destination of California -- these were places that voted AGAINST Bush." Presumably then, terrorist activity south of the Mason-Dixon is more morally acceptable.
During the Florida election battle, Cornell's esteemed guest speaker compared Republicans to Nazis. The comparison is so vile as to shock the conscious of any reasonable individual. Nonetheless, it merits mention. In referring to the Holocaust survivors who live in Florida, he wrote, "Sixty-two years ago tonight, the Holocaust began in full force on what was called Kristallnacht: A few [Jews] survived. I will not allow those who survived to come here to this 'land of the free' be abused again." Such a trivializing comment, comparing a dispute over legal interpretation of U.S. election law to the actual mass murder of 6,000,000 Jews, is truly incomprehensible.
And when Elian Gonzalez washed up on the Florida shore -- after his mother had drowned trying to escape Cuba for America -- Moore, never content with the mainstream, staked out a truly independent position. Some believed that Gonzalez's survival was an act of God and that it would be immoral to send him back to a Communist nation where his fundamental political and economic rights were vulnerable. Others pointed to the importance of respecting the international law, which mandated a return to his loving father in Cuba. But in his "Apology to Elian," Moore divined the intentions of a dead person and became the only American to publicly blame Elian's deceased mother's greed for causing the situation. "The truth is your mother and her boyfriend snatched you and put you on that death boat because they simply wanted to make more money," he said.
Now, Moore should feel free to rant and write to his heart's content. But speaking normatively, the man does not deserve an invitation to go bowling with the Rotary Club, let alone to give an address at an Ivy League school. He is being given an air of undeserved intellectual respectability, and Cornell is being used as an unwitting tool. That serious scholars or students are willing to pay him to ramble is disgraceful. Even more disturbing is the amount he is being paid. Moore is collecting $10,000 for an hour or two of his time at this University, and he'll be sure to plug his new book on at least a few occasions.
So if you attend today, raise some tough questions. Quiz him as to why he thinks it matters whether Democrats, Republicans or Independents were killed in the World Trade Center. Find out if he wants to reconsider his implicit comparison between Theodore Olson (Bush's attorney in the Florida dispute whose wife was onboard one of the downed planes on Sept. 11) and Himmler. Ask him if he'd rather live under the leadership of Fidel Castro or that of George W. Bush. Watch him justify his previous comments, and see how convincing he sounds. Or just use the material here to give him a greeting Lynah style -- by crumpling up this article and throwing it at his head. Given some of his previous comments, such a reaction would be quite appropriate.
"A tale told by a blind man, full of sound and fury signifying....nothing."
W Shakespeare (dead white guy)
For a guy:
I may not like Falwell too much, but Moore makes Fawell look like Einstein by comparison. I don't like it when I see a pot shot like this. If Falwell is the target, support your opinion. If he's not the target then leave him out.
I think what sealed it for me about MM was his appearance on O'Reiley's show. He refused to answer any question without some "comic input" (and I use that phrase lightly). I think he thinks that his thoughts are worthwhile because they're funny (which they're not even that really).
I can hardly wait until he takes his rightful place in history, which is that of a nobody.
Will the N.Y. chapter be attending this?
He's not acting.
Sadly, I won't be returning from my five year exile from NY until August. I would LOVE to Freep this A-shole, but Miami was not part of his book tour.
It was a homosexual magazine that first made the "Tinky-Winky is gay" assertion. The wire services even ran with this story before Falwell picked it up.
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