In response to the recent elections and subsequent regime change, the ever controversial Michael Moore has made the following response to Republicans. I obviously don’t agree with all he writes, but I found it an interesting read. Your thoughts? (and thanks Wendy for the link)
November 17, 2006
Michael Moore’s pledge
The liberal filmmaker extends an olive branch to
disheartened conservatives.
I WOULD LIKE TO extend an olive branch. Those of you
who consider yourselves conservative and usually vote
Republican have not had a very good couple of weeks.
Trust me, I know how this feels.
In fact, those of us on the other side of the fence
don’t really know what it’s like to win, so if we seem
a bit awkward right now (were we supposed to vote for
the majority leader the speaker said to vote for, or
stick to our promise to the other guy?), forgive us.
I know you are dismayed at the results of last week’s
election. You’ve got to be freaking out about what
this bunch of tree-hugging, latte-sipping,
men-kissing-men advocates will do now that the country
is in our hands. I don’t blame you. We’d never admit
it, but we secretly admire you because you know how to
chop down a tree, take your coffee black and enjoy
watching women kissing women. Good on you!
What I don’t want is for you to drop into the deep
funk we liberals have been in for two-plus decades.
Yes, your Republican revolution is over, but hang in
there. And do not despair. I, and the millions who
voted for Democrats, have no interest in revenge for
the last 12 years. In fact, let me make 12 promises as
to how we will treat you, the minority, in the coming
years.
Thus, here is “A Liberal’s Pledge to Disheartened
Conservatives”:
1) We will always respect you. We will never, ever,
call you “unpatriotic” simply because you disagree
with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and
disagree with us.
2) We will let you marry whomever you want (even
though some among us consider your Republican behavior
to be “different” or “immoral”). Who you marry is none
of our business. Love, and be in love — it’s a
wonderful gift.
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.
4) When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from
Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home too.
We promise never to send your kids off to war based on
some amateur Power Point presentation cooked up by men
who have never been to war.
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
afflict you and your loved ones, we’ll make sure those
advances are available to you and your family too.
6) When we clean up our air and water, you too will be
able to breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer
water. When we put an end to global warming, you will
no longer have to think about buying oceanfront
property in Yuma.
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.
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.
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, take up another sport. In the
meantime, we will arm the deer to make it a fairer
fight.
10) When we raise the minimum wage, we will raise it
for your employees too. They will use that money to
buy more things, which means you will get the money
back! And when women are finally paid what men make,
we will pay conservative women that wage too.
11) We will respect your religious beliefs, even when
you don’t practice those beliefs. In fact, we will
actively seek to promote your most radical religious
beliefs (“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 here at home.
12) We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt
and break the law. 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.
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.
Now pull yourself together and let’s go have a
Frappuccino