'Fahrenheit 9/11': Poor use of free speech

The First Amendment guarantees all Americans freedom of speech. This means that that a person cannot be stopped from voicing an opinion even if that opinion is unpopular. Free speech has had an important role in American history. It helped to bring an end to the evils of slavery and forced racial segregation. Freedom of speech is among our most important rights.

It is unfortunate that an American like Michael Moore would insist upon using this freedom to deliver deceitful propaganda. Almost everything in Moore's movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, is deceitful. He selectively cuts out bits and pieces of interviews and speeches to unfairly tarnish people's reputations.

He misuses the words of military personnel to further his absurd argument in his so-called documentary. He then goes on to exploit a grieving mother of a soldier who was killed in Iraq.

The deception in this propaganda film seems like something out of Soviet Russia or Nazi Germany.

One thing that really offended me was his way of showing footage of Iraq before the war coupled with the shots of injured civilians during the war.

First, he shows scenes of happy Iraqis in pre-war Iraq. Then he shows footage of Iraqi civilians dead and wounded during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The images certainly were unpleasant. They show how horrid war is.

Moore neglects to even mention the horrible crimes committed by Saddam Hussein. He doesn't show footage of Kurds being murdered by Hussein's regime. This movie makes no mention of the prisons for children. It does not show footage of women crying after being raped by Hussein's sons.

Moore's depiction of life in pre-war Iraq and during the Iraq war is dishonest revisionist history. He ignores the crimes committed by the horrible regime that our forces toppled. I guess mass murder and genocide weren't worth showing in Moore's images of pre-war Iraq. He'd rather focus on the few unfortunates who were caught unintentionally in the crossfire as America liberated the Iraqi people from Hussein.

Moore's movie is thick with racial and ethnic stereotyping, most obvious in his depiction of the coalition of the willing. The filmmaker arrogantly insults the people of these nations. When he mentions the Netherlands, he shows an image of someone smoking marijuana. When he mentions Iceland, he shows footage from an old Viking movie. When he mentions Romania, he shows an image of Dracula. I don't know why Moore omitted the United Kingdom and Italy when discussing our allies.

Who knows? Maybe he couldn't think of a way to make fun of Italians or Brits.

This dismissive and racist attitude toward nations that came to our aid in a time of war is condescending and offensive. It is a movie scene like this that makes Americans look arrogant in the eyes of foreigners.

While Moore has the right to freedom of speech just like every other American, his use of this right disgusts me. Free speech is not guaranteed in many parts of the world. Instead of using his freedom, which Americans die for, to enlighten and educate, Moore uses it to mislead and deceive.