Ronald Regan's Daughter

Patti Davis, daughter of deceased president Ronald Regan, has written a very thoughtful article about Fahrenheit 9/11. Unfortunately, it seems to be written from a fairly sheltered perspective... "Many things have been said about the movie, and of course about its director, Michael Moore. But I don’t think I’ve heard anyone comment on Moore’s love for America."

Funny... almost all I ever hear about Michael Moore is that he hates America, and that he hates the soldiers. There's even an upcoming documentary: Michael Moore Hates America.

I agree with her central point - the rage that comes across in the movie is borne out of a love of his country. Denying the patriotism of critics is a powerful tool of the right in the propaganda war... it's a variation of the whole 'Well, if you hate America so much why don't you go live in Iraq?' argument that has become popular of late. Conflating a deep-seated anger at the current administration with a hate of the country in general is thoroughly simple-minded, and yet it is an argument that is becoming more and more popular, even if it's not getting any more credible.

The saddest part about the whole thing is that genuine debate is being obscured in this ignorant muck-raking. It is possible to be against the Bush Administration and yet still be in favour of America. It is possible to hate the war in Iraq without loving Saddam. It's possible to be opposed to the 'war on terrorism' without supporting Osama Bin Laden. If the people mouthing off about the patriotism of others spent lest time talking and more time thinking, I suspect we'd have a much more productive debate on the big issues. Unfortunately, so many people can now only see the world in shades of red, blue and white... in the real world, outside of vacuous rhetoric, the problems of the world have richer and more varied colouring.