Staff Editorial
Daily Mississippian (U. Mississippi)
(U-WIRE) OXFORD, Miss. - It's not what you do, it's what you say when you're honored for what you do.
In yet another case of the extreme left and the extreme right both losing touch with America, a FOX News report on Monday featured a Web site, www.revoketheoscar.com, that's solely dedicated to having the best feature-length documentary Academy Award revoked from documentary filmmaker Michael Moore for his 2002 film "Bowling For Columbine."
The Web site's organizers claim that Moore used selective editing techniques when putting together "Columbine," a film about gun control in America, painting a poor image of anti-gun control activists and former NRA president Charlton Heston. The Academy does not have any clear regulations detailing editing in documentaries, only that they be a work of non-fiction.
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It's obvious that the group is not organized to judge the credibility of Moore (a rabidly left-wing liberal) but rather try and punish him for his inflammatory comments made at the Oscars last month.
Upon winning for "Columbine," Moore rushed the stage with his fellow nominees to protest the war in Iraq, calling President Bush "a president elected in a fictitious election who is waging a fictitious war." Moore screamed "Shame on you, Mr. Bush!" repeatedly before the music cut him off and various crowd members began to either cheer loudly or boo.
Moore is not the average American. His views are to one extreme and his improper use of an awards show for a political rally angered those situated on the other extreme.
That said, Moore's Oscar should stay put. Free speech is a blanket shared by people not prone to enjoying each other's company, but in Moore's case, and those who are trying to revoke his award, it keeps the dumber actions of political extremists from hurting each other and us.
