I strongly recommend seeing Sicko not because it is a great film or even one of Michael Moore’s better films, but because it is such an important and timely film.  Roger and Me and Bowling for Columbine made for better theatre because they both possessed a stronger thread that held them together and pulled the viewer in emotionally.  They were also, at the time of their release, more innovative.  Sicko, while not as fresh stylistically or emotionally compelling is more important, personally relevant and timely than its predecessors.

The American public has long been fed a steady diet of misinformation as it relates to health care – ours and that of the rest of the "civilized world".  Moore effectively dismantles big business’s argument against a more equitable and inclusive alternative – universal health care.  Yes he gives a slanted view – but as push back against the massive advertising and lobbying strategies of big pharma, HMO’s, biotech companies, medical devise makers, insurance companies and the medical profession – it’s certainly not a fair fight.  And when we hear the quality and level of criticism coming from these actors and their paid for surrogates in the media and halls of Congress - me thinks thou dost protest too much.
 
Love him or hate him – agree or disagree with his argument – he has certainly tackled one of the most important social issues of our time, and done it in a way that can be easily understood by the average American.  If we don’t all put pressure on the system to act – then shame on us.

We live in a unique time in human history – one that offers the potential for revolutionary change.  Information is power - and technology has delivered it to the masses, for the first time, through the internet and fast, affordable computers.  With little effort, accurate and penetrating information and news is available free of charge - and in the time it takes to tap a few keys. 

How is it then that a fairly well educated, media-savvy public is as misinformed about what is really happening here at home and abroad?  On issue after issue - healthcare, wealth distribution, race relations, education, politics, religion, war, poverty, the environment – polls show that the average American is dangerously misinformed.

Why?  Do we not want to know?  Would knowing force an uncomfortable change in our behavior?    I think T.S. Elliot asked the most pertinent question our time;  "Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?  Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" 

What do you think?