This evening, I had the opportunity to hang with some friends and go see Michael Moore's new film, Sicko (which incidentally, can hardly be called a "documentary"). Extremely inflammatory, thoroughly biased, and frequently hilarious, Moore makes a two-hour campaign for universal free health care in the United States. It was refreshing to see Moore in actually proposing a theoretically viable solution to an issue, rather than solely bashing the proponents of the status quo. Visiting several other countries that (at least on film) have excellent social healthcare programs such as Canada, England, France, and one other surprise, it seemed to me on initial viewing at least plausible that such a system could work in the U.S. And then I remember, "Oh wait a minute...I actually get to experience on a day to day basis a grand US free social program in action: the Los Angeles Unified School District" (which albeit is a state program rather than a federal program). I like the idea of a universal free healthcare system in the US, but if it's organized and run with the same level of negligence, incompetence, and incapacitation as other free universal systems (like large, urban school districts), I'd just as soon pass.What Moore was able to diagnose (albeit all to briefly) was an underlying current of individual autonomy that pervades the US as opposed to these other countries in which a general sense of community is held as the norm. Ideally, if a sense of "we"-ness can overcome the sense of "me"-ness that is so prevalent here in this country, perhaps we'd actually be able to have functional and effective systems in place through which we could actually care for and look out for each other, rather than meagerly exist for mere self-survival.
Overall, Sicko is an entertaining film although it doesn't necessarily persuade me to do anything in particular (which this kind of persuasive film should try to do). My guess is that people's reaction to this film will be as polarized as their reaction to Moore himself, which leads me to the lame conclusion of recommending this film only to those who like Moore's previous films.
Anyway, it's late now, and I must retire so that tomorrow I can finally finish the garage!!!
3 comments:
Nice evaluation of the movie. It's not out yet in London but look forward to seeing it when it is...
Oh, and the "free" NHS service here in the UK is a joke. People die every day because the severe underfunding leads to negligence, incompetence and often disgustingly poor hygiene and maintanance standards. The rich simply go private... the poor, of course, get the worst of it.
Even saying that, I think the vast majority of the British population would rather have the National Health than what you guys have in the States. At least here you are ENTITLED to whatever free healthcare is available, rather than just going without purely because you can't pay the bill.
I think you are the new Joel Siegel(RIP).
On the topic of healthcare, I doubt that America will EVER get from "me" to "us". And the Medicaid relief, at least in New York, is rather pathetic-- people who shouldn't milk the system, do, and those who need the system are denied. As far as nationalized programs in other countries- ask a Canadian-- who regularly come across the border for health care because the wait for health care in Canada might cost them their lives.
well put, well put.
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