Principles trump politics during “An Evening With Michael Moore”

Michael Moore
Micheal Moore gives a talk plus Q+A regarding his new book "Here Comes Trouble"/File

On Saturday, hundreds of Cal students filed into Wheeler Auditorium to spend an “Evening with Michael Moore”. The famous (or infamous) filmmaker came on stage to a roaring crowd of euphoric progressives, drawing an immediate standing ovation. The “Sicko” star quickly launched into a lighthearted lambasting of the ridiculous fine print on the event’s tickets and the university’s bureaucracy in general (can I get an amen?).

Throughout the evening, Moore did not hold back any of his opinions, addressing a wide array of issues from guns to gays, capitalism to corporations, Obama to abortion and everything in between. He then took questions from the audience, drawing a strange medley of inquiries, including a left-wing conspiracy theory (apparently “Sarah Palin’s brother” is rigging American elections). Finally, he ended the evening by reading two engrossing excepts from his new book, “Here Comes Trouble,” about winning a school board election and taking on the racist membership policies of the Elks club as a teenager.

As a longtime libertarian, it came as no surprise that I found myself disagreeing with Moore many a time throughout the night. However, despite our differences, I must confess that I greatly respect the filmmaker for his unwavering adherence to his political principles. He was not bowing down to Obama simply because he has a “D” next to his name, but rather criticized the President for his lack of a “backbone” when giving into a healthcare compromise and starting a new war.

Indeed, I have often thought that if I were a liberal, I would be disappointed at the President for abandoning his base and succumbing to — dare I say — conservative causes like corporate welfare, tax cuts and military interventionism. It’s all about principles, not parties, people! Since Moore rightfully recognizes this fact, I happily applauded and left the auditorium wholeheartedly satisfied.

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  1. Anonymous Bi Boy says:

    “a wide array of issues from guns to gays” What’s an issue about gays? Same-sex marriage or their existence? Not wild about your prose there…

  2. Joseph Dowd says:

    “Indeed, I have often thought that if I were a liberal, I would be disappointed at the President for abandoning his base and succumbing to — dare I say — conservative causes like corporate welfare, tax cuts and military interventionism.”
    Wait, are you saying that you favor “corporate welfare”? That seems rather inconsistent with your libertarian princples. Shouldn’t any kind of special treatment from the government receive condemnation from libertarians, whether the recepient is an individual or a corporation?

  3. surreality cruise says:

    disagreeing on what exactly?  stop being such a coward and say something, say what you disagreed with him about.  If you believe it, there is no shame in saying it, it’ll only make your article less of a worthless bit of flotsam eating up bandwidth.  who the hell cares if you’re a libertarian?  what does that have to do with your article, other than to make yourself look more even-handed than your writing suggests you actually are.   How old are you anyways?