Filmmaker rehashes politics in Dome speech

By: Dana Moran

Posted: 9/23/04

Michael Moore doesn't want to admit it, but he thinks Republicans are very good at what they do.

"They're up at the crack of dawn trying to figure out what minority group they want to prevent from getting married today," he said. "On our side, we never see the crack of dawn, because we've been up all night."

Moore spoke to a sold-out Carrier Dome crowd last night as a part of the 2004 Syracuse Symposium: Humor. The audience of 10,000, however, wasn't only expecting a good laugh.

"He's more than just funny," said Eric Holtzwarth, assistant dean of The College of Arts and Sciences. "He uses humor to promote social change."

The reason the Republicans get up so early is that they know that they're in the minority in America, and the majority of citizens now take liberal positions, Moore said. He added that he doesn't blame voters for their apathy toward presidential nominee John Kerry, and thinks Kerry needs to take positions that speak to people who voted for Ralph Nader in 2000 to win them over.

"Bush and Kerry both suck, that's why I'm voting for John Kerry," he said. "That's our new slogan."

Moore said Bush became likeable to the average citizen because he speaks to people on their level-especially the 40 million functional illiterates in the country who can't read or write over a fourth grade level. He added that Bush is the epitome of what all Americans want for themselves: to live their entire lives and not have to work.

"He's Ferris Bueller," Moore said. "Ferris was cool. Ferris got away with everything. The Democrats are like Ferris Bueller's sister, sitting in the police station with Charlie Sheen, with a scowl on their faces."

Moore also showed some never-before-seen footage from the "Fahrenheit 9/11" DVD to emphasize his message against the war in Iraq. Moore said he blames the media in part for not depicting the events in a realistic light, adding that not only can the Iraq war not be won, but that it should not be won.

"You don't deliver democracy through the barrel of a gun," he said. "It has to be organic."

Audience members had the opportunity to write questions on index cards for Moore to answer. One question focused on the fact that Moore, like George W. Bush, is now very rich. Moore said that his wealth is one of the supreme ironies of his life, and that he feels very blessed and privileged to have it.

"I'm a dangerous man to be giving a lot of money to, because my consumer needs are few," he said. "I fund a lot of things and will continue to do good with it."

Though the crowd seemed to be mostly in support of Moore, he didn't escape occasional heckling. After Moore finished calling Bush an ATM for the rich, one person yelled, "Why don't you give back some of your money?" When he told the audience that it was best to turn off the TV for everything other than "The Daily Show," another person called out, "How much did you get for that one?"

One question asked Moore what he thought about people who called him un-American and a traitor.

"I would not use either of those words to describe myself," he said. "I would say I'm an Eagle Scout and I'm overweight."

After speaking on heavier political issues, Moore moved on to the more humorous portion of the night. While waiting for DVD clips to load, he told the audience he was going to read them a story, and then held up a giant copy of "My Pet Goat," the children's book Bush was reading when he was informed of the Sept. 11 attacks.

In order to drive home his message about the importance of voter registration, Moore called for audience members who failed to vote in the previous election, as well as a Canadian, to come down to the stage. The group proceeded to play "Stump the Canadian," a trivia game in which the nonvoters were pitted against the country of Canada to win prizes such as beer, ramen noodles, toilet paper and clean underwear. The prizes were chosen to illustrate the fact that nonvoters are lazy, but Moore said he could hardly be hypocritical toward these students since he calls himself "one of the original slackers."

"Whenever I can, I prefer to do nothing," he said. "I understand the slacker mentality. I'm on tour for the next 35-40 days, and we're calling it the 'Slacker Uprising' tour."

After being faced with such questions as "How many original colonies did the U.S. have?" and "Who is the prime minister of Canada?," it was clear the Canadian had the upper hand. Prizes were passed out to the losing side as Moore belted a rousing rendition of "O, Canada."

Khadija Mehter, a sophomore political science major, was happy that Moore placed so much emphasis on voter registration and making it seem like the cool thing to do. She understands, though, that not all Americans agree on their opinions about Moore.

"I support his views, but I think in some ways he turns off the average American because he comes on so strong," Mehter said. "He's kind of absolute."

Audience members, who mostly met Moore with applause, were happy that he considered the views of more than one political party.

"I liked how he showed respect for both sides of the issues," said Nick Burnett, a freshman engineering major. "He was more informative than persuasive, and I left more thoroughly opinionated than when I came in."

In addition to registering to vote, Moore told audience members to become politically active in swing states within driving distance, and to travel there to help with the upcoming election.

"I, as an American, would like to be known as a citizen of a country who brings peace to other people on the planet," he said. "Democracy is not a spectator sport, it's a participator event. It only works when we're all involved."