Shame on you, Michael Moore

If you watched the Academy Awards this year, you probably witnessed Michael Moore receive the Oscar for best documentary, "Bowling For Columbine." You inevitably witnessed his acceptance speech, though I feel that "acceptance" really isn't the proper word to describe what happened when he took to the podium. For those who didn't know Michael Moore to begin with, his rant about America and President George W. Bush was slightly shocking. For those of us who did know who he is, we all saw it coming. "Here it comes," I said to the other people watching the televised ceremony in my living room. "He's not going to thank anyone; he's just going to push his agenda on the war." Unfortunately, my prediction was as accurate as a Tomahawk missile.\n"We live in a time where we have fictitious election results that elect a fictitious president," Moore said to a mix of boos and cheers. "We live in a time where we have a man who's sending us to war for fictitious reasons, whether it's fiction of duct tape or fiction of orange alerts." Stop right there, Moore. Yes, the election was a farce. I think we can all agree on that to some extent. I'm not satisfied with the way President Bush won the election either. That ordeal is all history now, and hopefully will never happen again. As Americans, we are all entitled to our own opinions regarding Bush and the war. We are not entitled to be ranting idiots. His next sentence: sending "us" to war? Excuse me, but I don't see Michael Moore donning a chemical suit or wielding a rifle. Nor do I foresee him going to the Middle East in the near future to film another documentary full of leftist propaganda. Please, Michael, don't use the word "us" to describe "you." They have entirely different meanings.\nThe second of these issues are the "fictitious reasons" he claimed are the motives for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Are terror alerts fictitious, Michael? Or was Sept. 11 just a fictitious tragedy? What about the brave Americans and British who are risking their lives so you can rant on national television with impunity? \nWhat truly angers me is Moore's ignorance. He completely omitted any mention of our troops in Iraq. Not even a "let's bring these people home as soon as we can" or a "let's work toward a swift and peaceful end to this terrible conflict." Maybe he should have stuck around and listened to Adrian Brody's acceptance speech, a magnificent commentary truly worth the extra time it required. Brody, a native of New York City, tearfully pleaded for a quick end to the war and the safe return of our troops, some of whom are his own very close friends. I wonder if Moore has any friends fighting in Iraq at this moment. I wonder if he has any friends at all.\nWhat's funny to me is that the Oscar producers quickly struck up the orchestral music when Moore continued on his rant and let Brody continue at his own request. That's the kind of respect Moore wishes he could get, but instead he gets the yank. \nThe truth is that Moore is no different than his arch nemesis, President Bush. They are just on the opposite ends of the spectrum, pushing their political agendas from the left and right as hard as they can and ignoring everyone else in the process.\nMoore has no respect for his fellow Americans. His only aim is to arouse contempt and play devil's advocate. He doesn't care about the fate of anyone or anything except himself and his political agenda. He saw an opportunity to grab his fifteen minutes of fame and he seized it. If Moore were a respectable person and not a bloated mouthpiece of the radical left, he would have saved his commentary for the radio and the press where it belongs, not on an annual television program that has absolutely nothing to do with politics or the war. The Oscars are a celebration of the art of film, and of the men and women who create it. \n"We are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush! Shame on you,'' is how he ended his speech as the music blared and the jeers outweighed the cheers. Judge not lest ye be judged, Michael. Isn't equally shameful that you felt obliged to steal the spotlight away from these amazing actors, actresses, directors and producers so you could blow off some steam? So shame on you, Mr. Moore. Shame on you for only thinking about yourself and not the brave Americans fighting a war of which you don't approve.