This article was originally published on Nov. 18th, 2006 at americanchronicle.com. It was written not long after the socialist Michael Moore put out a pledge to displaced conservatives.
A while back, a friend of mine and I were having a political discussion. He was of the opinion that, depending on certain definitions, ten percent of us were liberal, 10 percent conservative and the rest were somewhere in between. I felt that was a fair assessment.
A few days ago, I read an article written by Michael Moore entitled “A Liberal’s Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives.” The purpose of this article was to get democrats to sign a pledge he put up on the web so that conservatives will feel better that democrats are now in power. I do not consider myself either conservative or liberal, a Democrat or Republican. It is interesting that Mr. Moore chose to address “the conservatives” and ignore the rest of us. I felt he might like to know how someone like me feels about his pledge, and so I have reproduced it here, put his words in parentheses so the reader knows what I’m responding too, and put my responses below each of his statements on a point by point basis. I know I am not a multi-millionaire documentary film maker and so I’m sure my opinion doesn’t mean squat. After all, I’m nothing but a blue collar slave working day to day to make ends meet. So, Mr. Moore and all you who worship him, take my words for what they are worth.
(I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.)
Actually, I am quite heartened by what I saw in the last election. I voted for Green Party candidates in my state (Illinois) and saw that ten percent of the voters did likewise despite gross unfairness to their party and the access they have to the media. This shows me that a huge number of people have woken up to the fact that Republicrats and the Dempublicans are really just two sides of the same coin, both controlled by large corporations and other special interests which give them the billions of dollars needed to maintain control and keep any third parties from fairly competing.
(Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.)
Gosh Michael, I didn’t know you had run for office and become such a huge, powerful figure in the Democratic Party. Well, in any case, I’m glad you decided to take it on yourself to become their spokesman. Perhaps you will listen better than they seem able to. As for the millions of others, I voted for a Democrat, am I in charge now? Somehow, I don’t think so. If I was, we’d already be on our way out of Iraq and many arrests would have taken place at the highest levels of government. Well, let’s just see how well the Democrats will do in the upcoming session of congress. I hope that my suggestions will be taken seriously, after all, actions do speak louder than words.
(Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:
Dear Conservatives and Republicans,
I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:
1.We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.)
Great! Excellent! The first thing you can do is tell Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the Democratic Party not to introduce or vote for any “Hate Speech” bill. It is every person’s right in this country to be able to engage in free speech and give his opinion no matter how hateful, how disgusting, how disagreeable this speech is. It is better that someone hate another and tell him to let him know where he stands than for that person to pretend he likes them only to let the hatred fester in secret. Any hate speech laws now in existence need to be repealed or overturned as unconstitutional, I don’t care who the hate speech hurts. I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it. That even includes you, Michael, I will fight to the death for your right to say what you want to say, even if it is hateful or spiteful to the conservatives. In the words of Noam Chomsky “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for those we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.”
2.(We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.)
Most assuredly superb! Let’s start by getting rid of the income tax and any law that takes into consideration marital status. There should be absolutely no laws of state that have anything to do with whether or not a person is married. Marriage should be between two people and their church or God. Governments should have nothing to do with it at all, including the issuing of licenses. Let’s see just how powerful you are, Mr. Moore, and if you can get the federal government to get their noses out of my personal life I will be forever grateful to you.
3. (We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.)
LOL. Well, that is sweet. Do you really think the Democrats have not given jobs and sweetheart deals to their financial backers? Are you really that naive? Well, I suppose it’s the thought that counts. If, however, you can somehow get the Democrats to abolish the income tax and replace the Federal Reserve notes we currently use with a gold backed currency issued by the congress of the United States of America which is supposed to be one of their jobs as outlined in the constitution, then you will be well on your way to keeping this promise. Also, lobbying laws need to be changed so that the only people lobbying their representatives are those the representatives actually serve. No money need change hands, no campaign contributions given, and conflicts of interest will disappear. If my labor is not taxed, as it should not be, then it really is my checkbook and I can keep it balanced myself, thank you very much.
4. (When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.)
How very magnanimous of you. When will this be? The Democrats seem to have little idea of how to accomplish this. To me it’s easy. Get out. Get out now. We already won the war, we defeated the Iraqi army and got rid of Saddam. We found no weapons of mass destruction. We are not losing a war, we are losing an occupation, an occupation we should have never started in the first place. What are the Democrats doing about this? They are planning to increase the number of troops. They are planning on giving a free pass to Bush and his regime even though they lied us into this war and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands. This is one promise I really hope you are able to keep, Mr. Moore, but I will not hold my breath waiting.
5. (When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.)
And so doctors have to follow the rules of the government as they again decide to stick their nose into my business? If the laws regulating health care were done away with and I was allowed to explore my own health care possibilities, wouldn’t that make health care cheaper? Shouldn't government be concerned with governing and not with health care? Shouldn’t I be allowed to pick any medication I choose for the disease I have without a note from my doctor? Government involvement with health care should be as minimal as possible. Perhaps if the Dempublicans and Republicrats were to stop taking bribes, I mean campaign contributions, from pharmaceutical companies health care would not be so inaccessible and expensive in this country.
6. (Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.)
Fantastic! I think it’s disgusting how we’ve polluted this world, especially when we have the technology and the means to stop it. Let’s start by telling the Dempublicans and Republicrats to stop taking money from the power and oil industry. We can encourage the development of solar and wind energies and things like the electric cars they so recently destroyed in California. We human beings, all seven billion of us, can live in harmony with this world if we would just put a little effort into it.
7. (Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.)
Most excellent! I am so happy to hear this. Start by impeaching Bush and Cheney for their utter incompetence in that matter. Oh, wait, Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have already said impeachment is off the table, that it wasn’t worth the time and effort. But not to worry. I’m sure that with your new found pull, Mr. Moore, you’ll be able to put impeachment back on the table. Just tell them that justice is never a waste of time.
8. (We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.)
I commend the Democratic Party for their past record on this matter. I don’t know of any laws they’ve passed contrary to this position, but I could be wrong.
9. (We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.)
Why do the Democrats keep trying to overturn the 2nd amendment of the constitution? Stop messing with my constitution! I don’t like guns. I don’t own one, but I know how to use one. I respect them. I don’t try to prevent anyone from owning one, especially to protect their homes in this day and age, and I don’t expect anyone else to try to take this right from the people.
10. (When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.)
Super! I haven’t had a raise in five years. I certainly would like one. I’m hard working and very good at what I do, in fact I’m one of the best. I manage my department. Still, I can’t get a raise because there are so many people looking for work and so many illegal aliens in this country that can replace me for less money, even though they would not do as good a job which is why I still have a job. Perhaps rather than raising the minimum wage the Democratic Party could work on securing our borders and deporting illegal (and they are illegal because they are here unlawfully) aliens. But wait, they’re for blanket amnesty! What are they trying to do to the lower class they claim they’re trying to help? Ship out or document the illegals and the wages will increase as there will no longer be a cheap labor base to draw from. In fact, when we bring our troops home from the unjust wars in Iraq and Afghanistan we can use them to defend our borders as they were meant to do.
11. (We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.)
I don’t understand why the listed beliefs are radical and why the Democrats would promote them. This government shouldn’t promote any religion according to the first amendment. We need to do away with “faith based initiatives,” a bad idea from the start. I agree we should respect everyone’s religious beliefs, be they Christian, Pagan, Muslim or a witch. I agree we should all discourage religious intolerance. However, I do not agree that this should be codified into law or that they should use religious intolerance as a reason to pass “Hate Speech” laws. BTW, if that part about the eye of the needle and the camel is true, you may be in trouble.
12. (We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.)
LMFAO. That’s a good one. You have a great sense of humor, Mr. Moore. Oh, wait a minute. You’re serious. What do you think the Republicrats and Dempublicans have been doing for decades? You can’t possibly believe that anyone in the two major parties aren’t so compromised as to be completely clean. Let’s start with Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership who refuse to impeach President Bush for his many high crimes and misdemeanors. By not pursuing this important congressional oversight she and others are complicit in these crimes. This is corruption at its worst. They also refuse to repeal important legislation that needs to be repealed such as the unconstitutional Patriot Acts and the Military Commissions Act. These laws are unconstitutional and ill conceived yet the Democrats have said they will not pursue repealing these acts, making them complicit in enabling the administration to break laws and treaties they should not be allowed to break. Reversing these unconstitutional laws and impeaching the administration should be the first things on the agenda when the congress convenes in January as to make sure that the United States of America goes back to using the rule of law and reclaims its moral standing in the world. Lastly, this congress needs to look into taking money from lobbyists such as AIPAC, the PRC, and other special interests that don’t even represent Americans but foreign interests. These should be especially illegal and any money found to be taken from such groups should be returned immediately. Laws should be passed to prevent such lobbyists from operating in our government with very severe punishments served. I’m sure, Mr. Moore, that with your newfound power in the Democratic Party you will be able to clean up the corruption immediately.
(I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.
Signed,
Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
(Click here to sign the pledge)
www.michaelmoore.com
P.S. Please feel free to pass this on.)
Well, this is my country. I was born here. This is supposed to be a country of freedom, but it no longer is. It reminds me in so many ways of what the USSR was when I was a kid. I blame the Democrats as much as the Republicans. As I said earlier, I am nothing but a blue collar slave. All I want is the fairness to return to government, justice to be done, and opportunity to be presented to me on level with everyone else.
Those currently in power have tried their best to destroy the constitution and install a dictatorship that kills the freedoms we have come to enjoy and imprisons those who dissent. Your words are hollow, Mr. Moore, and your promises are empty. They can only be filled by actions. For the longest time I have been shut out of the process because it was hijacked by the duopoly of Dempublicans vs. Republicrats, Liberals vs. Conservatives, or whatever you want to call it. I sincerely hope that your words and promises become filled and the Democrats suddenly become the party of the people. I hope the rich corporate interests that have bought them are shut out of the process as the people’s rights are re-established and the rights given to the corporations are rescinded since they are not living entities. We will be keeping a close eye on their actions over the next few months. Hopefully, their actions will live up to your flowery words and will stay in the bounds of the constitution. I seriously doubt it, however. They are already turning away from their duties before they even take office. I hope for the sake of our country that should the Democrats fail to perform their duties, as is likely, that the people awaken and finally realize we need to elect third party candidates into office. You, Michael, are a famous documentary maker. Perhaps you should use your talent to bring us the truth about both parties rather than being a partisan propagandist. Perhaps when you put the truth before money you will reclaim your soul.
No comments:
Post a Comment