Michael Moore's Sicko a Must See

I had the privilege of seeing Sicko last weekend, when there was a limited number of theaters offering a sneak peak. The film left me both angry and hopeful. It is a film that "says something," that's for sure. It is the "message movie" of the year so far.

What exactly does the film say? It says that we, in America, should be ashamed of our health care system. It says we should be ashamed of allowing a system that puts profits far ahead of people in a country that is so "civilized." It tells us that we are stupid if we believe that private for profit health insurance is a good way to provide what every other "civilized" country considers a basic right. Every other country worth its salt knows this. Even countries with far less economic prowess know.

There are many good examples of how other countries do health care much, much better in the film. Canada, France, and Cuba are highlighted. Another I would offer is Ukraine. Only recently an independent nation and with an economy struggling to emerge, Ukraine nonetheless put health care in its Constitution as a basic right for all. Health care works the best when it is for the people, not for the profit of a select few of the people. Why don't more Americans realize this?

It also works best when those who choose health care as a profession do it because it is something they very much want to do, not because they see it as they easiest way to the big house on the hill and the million dollar bank account. That statement applies to the vultures in the health insurance industry as much as it does to doctors. Still, greedy doctors are also part of the problem.

What else does Sicko say? That we should be ashamed of ourselves - when those who can't afford health insurance are dumped on skid row. When a man who loses the end of two fingers in an accident is forced to choose which one he wants to live without. When workers sick after being exposed to airborne hazards in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks are given health care in Cuba that they cannot get at home. One has to wonder, in what is the most "Christian" of the major industrialized countries, is the health care system the most without a soul?

Yes, Sicko should make you angry. But it should also make you hopeful. So many will see it, and so many other voices are finally speaking to the issue, that there is indeed hope that America may decide to join the rest of the advanced world and provide real health care for its citizens. Yes, even those who aren't rich.

Few - except maybe those who get told what to think by the likes of Hannity, Coulter, Limbaugh and Parshall - can come away from seeing Sicko and not know that the American health care system is seriously broken. I have enjoyed all of Michael Moore's work, but can acknowledge that some of his films are hard to get past the hard-core deniers. Even though Fahrenheit 9/11 was backed up with a great deal of facts, it was a hard sell. Sicko is easy, it is so obvious. Go see it this weekend, and take friend. Then do something.