By Chick Moorman

What makes me a book reviewer you might wonder? Simple. I decided to be one. That’s what.

That and the fact that I have read a few books in my life, enough to know it’s not how many books you get through that matters. What matters most is how many books get through to you! Michael Moore’s book, “Here Comes Trouble” got through to me. Big time!

I’m not going to tell you what is in it. You can read it for that kind of information. Instead, what follows is the impact this important book had on me, the questions I have, the insights I have gleaned, the hopes I hold, and the concerns I now struggle with.

I found “Here Comes Trouble” to be a wonder inducer.

First of all, I wonder what Michael’s parents were really like. I would like to read their story. How were they able to raise a child who could question authority in a respectful (not always) way? How did they communicate to their son that developing an inner authority is more important than blind obedience? How did they resist the urge to do their child’s thinking for him and allow him to think for himself? How did they communicate the importance of diversity, the real strength of this wonderful country, in an era where prejudice was often on public display? I am wondering these things because I want to know how we can help more parents raise responsible, caring, conscious young people.

Since I set this book down I have been thinking long and hard about our educational system.  The public school system is being slowly and systematically destroyed. I wonder if that is an accident. (No I don’t.) Our schools are steadily being turned over to those who believe the education of our children should be run by those who operate with a profit motive. Testing is now big business. Someone is getting rich in the business of education. Do any of us think that the people making the big bucks are the teachers?

I wonder if I really live in a democracy.  Does my vote count as much as that of a corporation? Should legislators be required to wear uniforms and helmets like race car drivers with their corporate sponsors displayed on them? That way we could compare how they are voting with who is sponsoring them. Are we living in a corpacracy that is creating an aristocracy because of the way elections are financed?  And more importantly, can any government or civics teacher in this country even ask those questions? Can she invite her students to write about them? Dare we ask our children to think about them?

Can one person make a difference in this world? The Tea Party protestors think so. The people occupying Wall Street think so. Michael Moore must think so. Maybe I ought to think so too. Or you could join me and then there would be two more of us that think so.

Hey Michael, I wonder how often you got discouraged. Did you ever just want to give up? Did you ever get tired of what seems like batting your head against the wall? How did you get out of that space?

I wonder why more young people don’t run for the school board.  No I don’t.

I wonder that when living in a country that claims to value free speech, why so many people tried to control what you were saying.

I wonder if you  get anywhere near the appreciation you deserve for loving this country so deeply.

I wonder what your third date was like.

I wonder if your movies are as incredibly fascinating as your book. I confess I have not seen one. My intention is to change that.

I wonder whether you feel the man creates the times or the times create the man. In some ways, the times appear to be calling you forth to step somewhat reluctantly into the spot light. At other times, it appears as though you leap into the spotlight and make the times into what they are becoming.

Thank you for your book.