SiCKO: Entertaining, Informative and Important

"The weight of evidence Moore marshals for taking the profit motive out of medicine is overwhelming. In a summer of dumb, shameless drivel, Moore delivers a movie of robust mind and heart. You'll laugh till it hurts." -- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

Most people who know me know that I often speak of the job of the prophet (the one who speaks to a culture that has become morally corrupt and off track) as prophetic critique and prophetic hope. Those same people also know that while I love a good Michael Moore documentary, I often criticize him for only offering critique and not hope...SiCKO changes that. The film is really quite an accomplishment. It ciritcizes the American Health Care System/Industry and concludes that it is simply morally wrong for America, the richest country in the world, to continue to be the only First-World country without Universal Health Care.

The film begins with an important statement: "This is not a film about the 50 million American`s without healthcare in this country...this is about the 250 million American`s with healthcare..." How could that make for an interesting film? Because it then becomes the healthcare industry (Drug companies, Insurance companies, Politicians) that become the focus of criticism. In short, the film is about the systemic problems and injustices--the weakness and corruption within the beauracratic system itself, which makes for a more important film--because it highlights the very system that can actually change all of this for America, rather then just reeling about systems that cannot create change--like the doctors or nurses themselves.

As a Canadian the film made me appreciate our universal healthcare system and helps me put high taxes in context...which is important. The film briefly highlights Tommy Douglas, recently voted to be the most important Canadian in history. Of course, Douglas was the one who created the Candian healthcare system. The following is the write-up from Wikipedia about Douglas: (October 20, 1904 – February 24, 1986) was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician. As leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) from 1942 and the seventh Premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961, he led the first socialist government in North America and introduced universal public medicare to Canada. When the CCF united with the Canadian Labour Congress to form the New Democratic Party, he was elected as its first federal leader and served in that post from 1961 to 1971. In 2004, he was voted "The Greatest Canadian" of all time in a nationally televised contest organized by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The miniseries Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story, was filmed between February and May of 2005 and aired on CBC Television in two parts on March 12 and 13, 2006.

So why doesn`t the US have "socialized healthcare" (there is a great part about the evils of even the concept of socialized anything because of communism and the Russian propoganda--including a recording of Ronald Reagan explaining the evils of socialized healthcare--"The government controls you!")? Because...wait for it...there is too much money in it all...suprised? By now, probably not...as the Apostle Paul says "Money is the root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy). Having the healthcare industry controlled by the private sector (corporations) keeps the capitalist dreams, including massive amounts of profits, alive. And of course Capitol Hill sees a whole lot of that money as well--through lobbying--(Oh Hillary!). And that, among other things seems to be the difference--the almost religious committment to keeping the government out of the Americans lives--remember freedom! though phone tapping seems to be alright--and they want the market (and Adam Smith`s "invisible hand") to dictate everything. Thus privately owned corporations, like PhRMA, Eli Lilly, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline, make more money than anyone can keep track of--and they are helped along by the media which tries to convince us that we, and our kids, all need to be on something...and so on and so forth. At any rate the picture is rather blique and frustrating. And that is when Moore does something that he doesn`t do in either Bowling for Columbine or Farenheit 9/11, he offers hope--a solution. His solution is to reform the healthcare industry to reflect that of Canada, France, England and even Cuba.

He visits all of these countries and highlights the strengths of the universal healthcare system--yes he does ignore the fact that Canadians have long waits for things, but does mention that Canadians like to complain, and do so as well as anyone! The people in these countries are happy, in general, with their system and wouldn`t trade that system for anything. Here Moore offers his country a practical solution (hope) to the problems they face--universal health care. He says "When we see a better car we drive it, when we see a better way of doing anytihng we take it...so why nto this?". the film is littered with horrifying stories that would make the hardest private sector-supporter ask some good questions, including a woman who`s daughter dies because her insurance company tells her to go to a different hosptial and escort her out as her daughter is convulsing! Only one word to describe a system that results in this came to mind as I watched and thought of Sienna dying because my insurance company didn`t want me to go to the hospital closest to me and they refused me service: bullshit. I know, strong language--but, and this is another conversation for another day, I believe the prophet is to use the language that describes the situation, even if it is potent--in order to wake people out of apathy toward issues.

Sure Moore doesn`t give the healthcare industry a voice in the debate but the reason he doesn`t is because, as he said in an interview I saw last night, "Their voice is heard every day on the news and in the paper--I tell the unpopular tales for people without power--that is my job." At the end of the day the film is a powerful message, informed, Moore says by Jesus command to take care of the sick (Matthew 25)--how could a follower of Jesus argue with someone trying to tell stories of sick people screwed by a system run by money and power? If Jesus were alive today he might be doing the same.

Let me give Moore the last word, from his website: in the film former British MP, Tony Benn, says, "If we have the money to kill people (with war), we've got the money to help people." That line always gets the loudest applause in the theater. It is estimated that, before Bush's War is over, we will have spent two trillion dollars on it. Let me say this: I NEVER want to hear again from ANY politician that we "don't have the money" to fix our schools, to take care of the poor, to provide health care for every American. Clearly, the money IS there when we want to illegally invade another country and then prolong a disastrous occupation. From now on, we have to demand that our tax dollars be there for the things we need, not the things that make us one of the most detested countries on earth.