This is about Michael Moore's
new movie, "Sicko."
You should see it.
Take with you your own political
leanings and prejudices.
But you should see it.
It's about the state of health care
not only in this country, but in various
other places around the world.
Moore is rightly regarded as a
leftist filmmaker based on some of
his previous works.
"Roger & Me" chronicled
Moore's efforts to meet with General
Motors Chairman Roger Smith and
get him to see what the company's
policies have done to Moore's hometown
of Flint, Mich.
"Bowling for Columbine" explored
the issue of gun violence,
which costs 11,000 Americans their
lives every year.
"Fahrenheit 9/11" took the Bush
administration to task over its reaction
to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. It
includes harsh looks at the Patriot
Act and the Bush family connections
with Saudi Arabia.
Moore had a political agenda with
each of those films, and critics had a
good time taking issue with various
aspects of the movies. But "Sicko"
isn't really about politics.
Neither Republicans nor Democrats
come out very well in Moore's
examination of the health-care
industry.
We Americans like to brag that we
have the best health-care system on
the planet, and maybe we do.
For those who can afford it.
Moore doesn't even examine the
plight of the approximately 50 million
Americans who have no healthcare
coverage. This movie looks at
those of us who do have some sort of
coverage.
Moore's great talent is to use his
audacity to put in simple terms how
big issues affect the lives of real
people.
Maybe it's the woman whose
young daughter died after a hospital
refused to treat the little girl because
it didn't accept her medical
coverage.
Or maybe it's the worker who
ruined her health searching for
survivors right after 9/11 and now
needs medications that cost her $120
here and only five cents in Cuba.
Or maybe it's the man who had an
accident that cut off the tips of two
fingers but could only afford to have
one reattached.
Maybe it's seeing a hospital in Los
Angeles dump helpless people who
can't pay their bills into taxis that
take them to Skid Row.
Maybe it's seeing the noxious
profits made by health organizations
who go to great effort to deny legitimate
claims by people they cover.
Maybe it's going to France and
Canada and Cuba and seeing everyone
there get free health care while
people here work harder and longer.
Maybe it's seeing that people in
those countries all live longer than
we do here "with the best health
care on the planet."
To be sure, Moore's movie lacks
sufficient context to be considered
the definitive work about health
care in this country.
But it does make you think.
That's why you should see it.
