Movie: Farenhype 911

This film, Farenhype 911 (hype), is the rebuttal to Farenheit 911 (heit), Michael Moore's propaganda film. My words on specific details appearing in either film are unlikely to persuade any of you in any direction. Suffice it to say that this movie, Farenhype 911, resonated much more powerfully with my personal belief system.

A little history of my political belief system: I don't really have one because I'm generally very unqualified when it comes to issues like multinational negotiation, government budgeting or social welfare reform. What I have is a set of values that I apply to my life. A set of lessons that I've learned, often the hard way. And those personal values and lessons translate into a belief system. My belief system grew out of me, as it should.

My family has conservatives and liberals.

They both had powerful influence over my thinking.

But I've always prided myself on thinking for myself. It has always been a family value and I generally do it well. I like to take in the opinion of my family and augment it with my own observations, etc. My beliefs are mine.

At some point I realized that Heather and her family are liberal and that, given my general lack of political interest, things would go more smoothly if I just blended more. To make our relationship work I made a concerted effort to become part of her family. Which was a great thing. I love the Deans very deeply and have learned innumerable lessons from them. The mistake I made was in drawing the line of personal change. I thought I was making a compromise for our relationship. I spent years trying to be liberal but always felt confused and conflicted. When I finally "came out" and started to describe how I saw the world I didn't know how closely it fit the conservative Republican ideal. It was just how I saw things. I wasn't very well versed in the official platforms or fancy Washington DC-speak.

Over the last month as I've looked more closely into the individual ideals I've simply found that the Republican conservative ideal makes more sense for our country at this point in our history. At some future point in history I may conclude that a Democratic liberal ideal makes more sense. But not now. I won't go into the details. Partly because I'm tired tonight. Partly because I'm not an expert on these things. And partly because to convince somebody to change... really convince them to change... would take a much larger investment than I can make tonight.

I recommend seeing both movies, regardless of your political views. If anything, they both provide insight into the power of the media to shape opinion. Oddly enough, it was this power that was the subject and core theme that Moore argued against in his Columbine documentary.

Ok, so I digressed from the movie... a lot.

The main point is that no matter who you are, don't let pressure from others convince you of how to think. The fact that Heather's family is liberal and that things would go more smoothly in my relationship if I followed suit is, now, clearly not reason enough to abandon my own beliefs. In fact, we have a nation based on the ideal that we should all have and celebrate our own beliefs. I now look back at my year of denying my own beliefs and feel like I was being completely not myself. Interestingly, our relationship has been much better with me as me. There's something beyond the words that you say when you voice your opinion. That something is belief. If you believe in something it that belief rings true to listeners. That quality of believing in what you're saying is always more attractive and endearing than the alternative.

So, if you want to impress hot women, don't worry about which side you believe in. Just believe in it strongly and be proud of it. I wasn't proud of my beliefs for a long time. I'm ashamed of that fact now. I wonder if it was pragmatism on my part trying to keep what was then a struggling relationship together. Or if it was character weakness. Lately, I tend to believe that before getting married I just didn't care much about politics which made it easy to compromise my beliefs away. But as soon as I saw myself as having a family I immediately realized that I have to further the beliefs I have that will protect that family and create a better world for them to live in.

Also, be respectful. Opinions are like... well, you get the picture. The fact that somebody holds a differing opinion doesn't mean they're retarded. The fact that you can't convince them of your viewpoint doesn't mean they're ignorant. Revel in the fact that we can have these beliefs openly. Many people on earth can't.

Good movie. I'm tired. Before I rant some more... good night. Go vote.