EC Entry (Eng 102) - A Love Story for the Ages

Capitalism For All!  Or...for some...

So, watching Michael Moore's movie "Capitalism: A Love Story" is kind of a tough pill to swallow.  I personally see a lot of issues with the way that America is run.  The saying "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" seems particularly apt at this point in time.  I have to say that I believe that Michael Moore had a very good point and a good message with his movie.  Although, I think at times the problem faced is that HOW he spreads this information is seen with hesitation. 

In fact, searching for memes with "Michael Moore Memes" turns up an obscene number of very, very negative responses.  I'm sure that a large part of them has to do with people who are so against what he's saying that it doesn't matter he says - they'll disagree with it.  That's what happens when you polarize a group like the American people.  You get both ends of the spectrum.  Moore does a great job of making the story personal.  The "Dead Peasants" aspect of corporations taking insurance policies out on rank and file workers is enough to make anyone with a conscience disgusted.  It's sad, really.  Moore offers a lot of interviews and a lot of facts and supporting research to show that he is on the right track, that he is speaking some truths.  However, he pushes his message with such vehemence that sometimes it seems like his message is lost.  It's not so much what he says but how he says it. 

This, I believe, is what things come down to.  Greed.  Those who are rich want to get richer.  They're giving themselves tax breaks that leaves the burden upon the middle class.  Even today the gap between the incomes of the rich and the middle class is growing even larger.  There are issues with the American economy.  There are issues with the American government and the amount of "corporate interest" in politics.  This is a problem. 

I think Michael Moore is trying his best to spread the message and get it out there, but there's something lost in translation.  The near fanaticism that Moore seems to encourage and engender don't really mesh with the common American.  We can't expect to make a living while trying to protest the way things are going.  The system is, simply put, corrupt.  How do we change it?  How can we hope to change it?  Instead of saying "do something" it might prove more helpful and more productive to start answering those questions.  While it's important to spread this information, to give the knowledge to people and spark people's curiosity and make them look into things for themselves the issue still boils down to "what can we even hope to do?"  Answer that for me.  Show people what can be done that doesn't require us to risk losing our jobs or the ability to provide for our families.  That would be more mobilizing to me, at least.  In short, good message.  It's emotional.  It's full of information.  But it still doesn't help to know what to do to change how things are.  Do any of you know of ways that the average American can do something to encourage change?  For an entire system that reeks of corruption - what can be done to fix it?  Honestly?  I'd really like to know.