New Michael Moore documentary "Sicko"

I've never actually seen a MM documentary but I do know that healthcare here is kind of messed up.

I am a college student and have loans taken out from the government in order to be able to pay for it. I live in an apartment with my girlfriend and work a part time job to pay bills. When I am out of classes for the summer I work more hours that add up to be so close to full time it is not even funny. The POS place I work purposely works anyone who is not in a management position just under full time hours all so they don't gain benifits. While I think it is good to have more options in healthcare I do not support this kind of healthcare when common people get screwed over by their corporate employers and are unable to gain these benifits even though they basically give these corporations full time hours.

Going back to where I said I have loans to pay for college brings up another big issue. I have to pay back this government money that I am using to get an education and be a better use to society with. At the same time the government just gives away free money and housing to the laziest people in society. "Lets give HUD housing and foodstamps and medicare to the lazy people who work part time at Burger King and have been knocked up a few times". I try and better myself and will have a tab waiting for me when I graduate. These "Burger King" workers refuse to take higer paying/management position all because they will lose their governmental benifets if they do. The government is basically rewarding these people for being lazy and not improving themselves.

If you want to see a truly great documentary watch "The Corporation". I don't remember who did the movie but it is a pretty unknown movie that you probably would never find at a local video store. A teacher of mine owns it and showed it to a class I was in one semester. That one really got me steamed up. I had always known that corporations where pretty evil but this just really shows what they are about. I remember in one part there was some big corporation that had bought out a huge piece of land in some third world country that included the water refinery. They were charging the locals an unbelievable amount of money for water and basically conglomerating all of it. That isn't the worst part though. There was even footage of this next part. One day it was raining and the people where gathering the rain water. The company would not let them collect rainwater and had the police out beating people for doing so. Now that is the most inhuman thing I had ever seen in my life. Trying to say that you own nature itself.
 
symphonyXjapan... uh, even though I completely agree, all of that should be glaringly obvious by now. American society is based on those "values" of self-gain, at the expense of others. And yet, as you point out, the government and media and corporate economy reward the lazy, uneducated slobs and the rich millionaires. Anyone with a drive to succeed in the working or middle class has an extremely difficult time in this country because of the way it's all set up. Ironically, that's what economic class most people are.
 
When I was out of work, I couldn't even get foodstamps after I ran my unemployment dry. THAT pissed me off, I've been paying into the "system" for LOTS of years. But yet an illegal (of any race,creed,color,religion) gets better compensation than I do. Add babies for bonus benefits. It absolutely disgusts me. I guess it's more motivation to to my damndest to make sure it doiesn't happen again in 55 days....Time to listen to more metal, and go on disability...
 
Well, for all the anger, resentment, hostility being tossed around here in response to the issue, there's one thing we can all do to change this country FOR REAL. Support Presidential candidate Ron Paul. He'll stop all this BS and make this country great again. This country is OURS, not the governments.

Let's all channel this energy into something positive. Go to Ron's website and find local groups and join them. With enough people committed to change, we might just be able to make the US a better place to live.
 
That sounds suspiciously like an advertisement, and I hate advertisements. I affiliate with no one, I don't need politics to change the world. As a member of society, I have the ability to alter things under my own power, to intercede and improve this world without red tape. And so does everyone else, they simply don't realize it.
 
Yeah, good luck with that. And yes, it absolutely was an advertisement. I'm trying to wake people up to the fact that our elected government officials do NOT work for our interests, but the interests of the corporations who support their rise to power. I'm taking a step to try to get people to educate themselves about a man who has shown repeatedly that he follows the Constitution in his decision making, something most of the rest of our elected leaders cannot claim. Excuse me if this somehow displeases you, but you're free to either ignore my statement or to respond, as you so chose. That's your right. One of the few we still have.

So dismiss my statement as an advertisement. I really don't care. And keep yourself unaligned with any sort of affiliations that might bring enough support to those who truly have all of our best interests in mind. You march on alone and we'll see how much of an impact you can make on the world. And please feel free to enlighten us with your plan to change the world all by yourself. I am truly interested in hearing it. Hell, if it makes sense then maybe you'll have turned me on to a revelation that will alter my beliefs. I doubt it, but I'm always willing to listen.
 
It seems ridiculous for you to be trying to wake people up to the fact that the elected government officials do not work in our interests, and then immediately suggest that as the solution, we should vote for yet another government official to be elected into the corrupt system, no matter how good he is. A Nation is its people, not it's institution. Without people, there is nothing to govern. Without people, there is no power to be had, no economy and no culture. The power truly is, was, and always shall be, in the hands of the people. The government, over the decades, has shifted from serving the people as intended by the constitution, to serving itself by exploiting the resources offered by the people. I for one refuse to be exploited. I for one recognize that we the people are the ones responsible for the shittiness of this country and we the people have to be the ones to fix it instead of sitting on our couches blaming vain men in suits.

If you want something done right, you do it yourself. You don't sit around waiting for it to happen or for a leader to come along, you become yourself a leader. How can I change the world all by my teensy widdle self? If I cut down a tree, I have changed the world. If I change my outlook to a more positive, compassionate one, then I, as part of the world, have changed the world.

People erroneously feel that in order to "change the world" one must become a superhero and drastically alter its physical or social landscape on a global scale. However, if such pessimists realized that instead of dismissing self-powered change as impossible, and took it upon themselves to slightly better themselves and the immediate world around them, then as a whole the greater change would take place. Gandhi said it best: "Be the change you wish to seek." I'm not going to vote for someone to change the world. All politicians ever do is argue about who's going to do what and how much it will cost them, but no actual productivity happens.

If the US took a tiny little dent out of their yearly defense spending, we could end world poverty and hunger immediately. Today. I have zero faith in the government doing that any time soon.

Instead, I offer that in changing one's own life for the better, and then extending active aid to neighbors and strangers, one can indeed improve this planet and the quality of life of those who inhabit it. You don't have to save an entire rainforest, but you can use less paper and help finance conservation land. You don't have to come up with an alternative fuel source but you can turn the lights off when you leave a room, or watch less TV. You don't have to solve world hunger, but it hardly costs anything to buy a stranger dinner.

Can I improve the world? A resounding yes. It saddens me that people allow the corporate world, the media, and the bureaucracy to convince them they are powerless little peons who need to be represented in the circus in order to achieve anything of worth.
 
Your statements are noble, I'll give you that. But we're talking about a society that is governed by (or supposed to be anyway) our Constitution. Im not talking about making my neighborhood a more friendly place by smiling at everyone I see. I live my life in a respectful manner to everyone. I know many people do not prescribe to your way of thinking, and they should. But the collective benefit of what you're talking about has to be channelled somewhere to achieve a goal. My goal is to put someone in the White House who has demonstrated that he is not a shill to corporations. Someone who will not fuck up the reputation of our country by engaging in wars for reasons that are completely counterproductive to their stated intent. Someone who believes in letting us live our own lives, without being told what to do at every corner, thereby opening up society to an increase of free thinkers who might just realize that your philosophy just might benefit us all. I hate the political machine just as much as you, but that's how our system works, albeit a broken system.

I'm talking about a realizable goal here. Gathering support from people who realize that there are people in this country who think beyond their own ego, kickbacks, nepotism, and truly want to make this country a better place to live. I've read the Constitution, and the guys who put those ideas on paper had a pretty damned wise viewpoint. If our country was run in accordance with it this would be a pretty great place to live. So yes, I'm advocating a change in the type of person we elect to represent us in OUR government. Maybe, just maybe, if we can get enough people to realize that WE can really make a difference in who gets to hold these positions of power, we'll collectively be more diligent in researching who these people really are. We'll look at their history rather than listening to their rhetoric, and 15 second attack ads telling you only why you shouldn't vote for the other guy, but nothing about why you should vote for them. It all stems back to your statements about Michael Moore and his propoganda. People blindly accept what is fed to them as truth. They don't take the time to LEARN the truth.

I've done my research on Ron Paul, and the guy has convinced me that he will not just follow the same path as his predecessors. He's asking for our support to help him gain the position he needs to help US. I believe the man intends to keep his promise. I don't believe the others have the same intent.

So, I would expect someone (you) who obviously has a grasp on reality to try to look beyond the label that our society imposes on everyone, and see Ron Paul as a man of integrity, not just as another Republican. Let's address the really big problem facing this country, and then maybe the small changes you talked about will be possible.
 
You've got it backwards: the things I mentioned are the pertinent, big problems. They are big because everyone can relate to them, every day. Most people don't even care who runs the government, as evidenced by you feeling the need to promote a particular candidate. Which is more realizable? Promoting an official to be possibly elected by a party, who would then run against other parties, and who would then potentially follow through on promises, provided that Congress also approves? Or stepping out your front door and taking action? I believe my method seems more realizable, the goals are smaller, but more immediate and more certain.

Yes, I believe we need to have a good government. However, that's minor to me. While they're sifting through red tape and protocol and debate which foot they should put into their pants first, I and those like me will be out exacting the very changes they tirelessly promise. You see, whether the government endorses, funds, or promotes action, ultimately it is US, we the people, who are the ones taking that action. Sometimes it is in the form of employed contracts from the government, sometimes it is volunteer work (Katrina relief ex.). People can independently, powerfully, and quickly change the social and physical landscape if only they got off their asses to do it. And we are far, far more potent than any government. There is a reason why the Declaration of Independence begins with "We the People" and not "We the officials". The founding fathers of this country, who were a great gulf more intelligent and farseeing than our current regime, understood precisely what I am talking about.

So, while I agree with you that it would be nice to have better leaders, and no doubt I will vote for the one I deem most suitable, in the meantime and in the aftermath of the elections, I will still seek my own avenues of improving this world because there is no reason for me to sit on my ass and wait for them to squander the innumerous chances that occur every day. Throughout history, the social heroes of the world are people who made it their own personal charge to make a difference, rather than wait for political change to occur. I am not pretending that I am such a person, in fact I have no illusions at all that I am more than a nameless face in a crowd, however I recognize the potential each of us has and that is no small matter.
 
I agree with your philosophy, and I do my part to make this world a better place, but the larger issue here is to stop the bleeding that our current elected leaders have caused. We're despised around the world, and where we were once thought of as the ultimate ally in the defense of freedom, we're now looked at as the ultimate bully. We try to impose our beliefs on countries that never asked for, nor wanted to live by our system. We're even rekindling old rivalries with a new ally, Russia, with this missle defense shield Bush is proposing. The lack of diplomacy in dealing with these other countries, and just doing whatever the hell we want throughout the world has turned us into the evil empire. We need to change the way our government is being run NOW. We can't hope to get all of the lazy people in America off their collective assess and out into the community with the hopes that this will somehow change things for the better at the highest level. We're being ruled by a self appointed monarchy, and we need to dethrone the elite before we forget where we came from. No offense, but you're thinking in a Utopian manner, and not practically. I don't believe I have anything backwards. My intent in my post was to try to inform the members of this forum about a candidate who has demonstrated that he holds to his convictions, which are in line with the Constitution of our country. A document that I think is pretty well crafted and serves the best interests of all of the citizens of this country. The regime in power now is completely corrupt, hopelessly misguided and have a stubborness that could be classified as criminally arrogant. Most of those looking to take over in 2008 are the same old story. Nobody but Ron Paul has pledged (with anything to back it up) to work to get this country back on track, so I wanted to make sure that everyone here had at least heard of him, so they could do some research and learn more about him. I am not insinuating that he holds the key to making this country the Utopia we'd all like it to be. But if we're ever going to get better as a country, we need a government who will stop playing favorites to foster distrust, and anger, and animosity between the people of this country. That's what our government has effectively done by taking sides on social issues that should be left to the discression of the individual. Our government oversteps it's authority on so many issues, and with the winning party getting their way, about half the population will always be unhappy until those issues are out of the realm of government. It's that simple.

My hope is that by having a government that has less involvement in our lives the animosity will dissipate, and most people will be able to be proud of their government because it will run in a fashion that respects everybody's beliefs, because their beliefs will be left up to them. Once this is achieved, then maybe you'll see an enlightening of the human spirit that will cause people to get out in their communities and volunteer to assist those who need it. The collective populace will be happier because they will truly be free, and will be able to do the things they want without having this forebearing monster telling them that they are morally wrong for acting the way they feel is right.

My point in all of this is that we have a chance to truly change this country for the better, by taking back OUR government. We need to make the statement "We the People..." mean something again. The current system certainly doesn't support that way of thinking and it'sbecause we, as a people, have let our government tell us how to live as opposed to US telling it how WE feel it should be run.

You yourself said you will vote, and that having a strong government is important. That's the only point I'm trying to make here. And being that you're obviously an intelligent person I'm sure that you have done your research of the candidates who are currently seeking the Presidency. But had you not known about Ron Paul, my mission would be accomplished, because I would have turned you on to someone who you might not have been aware of, and you could then make an informed decision as to whether or not you felt they were the best person for the job. I don't really know how we ended up in a debate over this, as that was the extent of my intentions.

Regardless, I have a lot of respect for your views. I wish everyone would live by your philosophy as this would be a much better place to live. But until that fever spreads across the country, lets' take this step to get people involved in the political process. It's OUR government. Let's take it back and make it work for US.
 
Again you're not making sense even though we are on the same page.

The regime is completely corrupt. On this we agree. Yet you somehow think electing ONE man among many corrupt officials is going to fix the problem, and you call my view utopian?

It is far easier to make a difference in the world than people think. They are afraid and they are lazy and too foolish to take back what is theirs by right, and give to those who are unable.

Why wait for Ron Paul when YOU can make a difference TODAY? You can't start at the top. To make an age old cliche, you have to go for the roots. And we are the roots. You have to seek change at the lowest possible level, which is always the most expansive level as well, and the weakest. From there, you can move up the pyramid and the leadership problem will fix itself because smarter people would be voting for better leaders. If I give you a massive benefit of doubt and suppose Ron Paul gets elected, AND that he's everything he claims, then we must wait until 2008 to experience any benefit. Further, in 2012, there is a chance that this benefit will end. If he is re-elected, then his glorious contribution will end in 2016 and who's to say the next President doesn't undo everything he worked for, and make things even worse than they are now. That is a temporary solution, the real problem lies with us as I have stated many times. If you improve yourself and the people around you, and they learn to do likewise, then a more intelligent society will consistently create a better government.

It's America's stupidity that caused this mess. We elected buffoons and then re-elected them. We put them there! And despite efforts of people like you, we will continue to do so until some of us make a difference in the way we live, educating ourselves and each other, improving society voluntarily and immediately rather than sitting around bitching about it.

Basically I'm just saying the solution to our depraved society lies within active social change, not politics. Though, having good political backup makes the situation easier, it's not the focal point.
 
Waking people up to the one man who could make a difference is my intention. If you truly believe that some revolution of thought is going to sweep the country and promote the change that you're talking about then I will respectfully have to disagree. As much as I hate to admit it, MOST people need to be led by someone. I don't think they are necessarily stupid, I think they are to the point where they truly don't believe they can make a difference, so they accept the actions of whatever party they more closely align with. They essentially buy whatever they are fed because the "system" seems too big. We need someone who is going to wake people up to the fact that they surely have NOT had the power to change this country because candidates are forced on them, and they have to make the "lesser of 2 evils" choice over and over again. A guy like Ron Paul could actually make people see that there is an alternative to the status quo. And if you believe that a guy like him wouldn't be able to get things done, I completely disagree. If enough people in this country realize the benefits of what Ron promotes and vote for him, and lets say he wins, they will truly feel like they made a difference. So then, as he starts to push his policy, and gets rejected by Congress, the people who voted for him will take notice that their wishes are yet again being ignored by our elected leaders. You piss enough people off (who you are elected to represent) by disregarding their wishes and eventually they will vote your ass out of office for someone who will support their wishes.

In any case, we can disagree on how things need to progress in order for change to occur. I believe your stance would be great if people could be woken up to it, but I also believe that people in general need a leader to get them motivated to make such a change.
 
My only issue with you is that you seem so very dead-set that Ron Paul is the only solution. I find that clearly erroneous, on a political as well as social level. Sure he might improve the situation but he is not the only one who could, nor as I have said before does change require political backing.
 
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