uz i love love stories

and it reminded me of the first time i visited Europe.

i was 20 when i flew in, alone. i turned 21 in florence. and i flew out of amsterdam a changed young man.

changed in one sense because it impressed me how many Europeans knew more about US politics and policies than Americans. and even though they were polite in their questioning, whether i was in paris or munich or sweden people asked me about homelessness and how did we live with the fact that some of our countrymen were sleeping in the streets while many of us snoozed in luxury.

i told them that america was cold blooded and hard core. and even though there were a few social services, there was so much shame and judgement tied to receiving handouts and it was so small that for the most part either you made it, or figured out how to survive, or you were kicked to the curb. and likewise, if you made it big, there would be no limit as to how much you could earn.

i said, you have a chance to be homeless, and you had a chance to be donald trump. and at one point of his life donald trump said that he was poorer than a homeless man because he owed millions.

now when i go back to europe i dont allow myself to get tied up in such conversations. instead we drink wine and eat giant fish and make love beneath the stars. because the alternative: thinking about the root of all evil, is such a bummer.

which is why michael moore is such a genius. he can bring up topics that are total downers (the decline of the us auto industry, the decline of the us health care industry, 9/11, etc.) and make huge audiences laugh.

last night our hollywood audience not only laughed, but applauded several times during the two hour film. yours truly even teared up a few times. its hard not to when you see “average” americans going through the ringer (and creating miracles).

but in the end, just like in europe, we dont know what to do with the problem at hand, and moore doesnt really help us, which is the only flaw in the film. are we supposed to revolt? and if so against who? the atm? are we supposed to take our savings out of the market? and put it where? certainly not the evil banks. the mattress? into small businesses? but isnt investing being part of the problem?

all i deduced was that because “democracy” is moore’s solution to capitalism, and since, if we are to believe his film, politicians on both side of the aisle are corrupt, then we should revolt at the polls and continue to vote da bums out until we have representatives who wont give gov’t bailouts after the people said no.

quit being partisan, and start voting people out of office whenever they do badly? and do it for the betterment of the country? if that is his solution, then i think that might be something most people could get behind.

me, i’ll be under the stars with the french girls.

A-