Amid the ever-escalating insanity besetting humanity, there are few examples of how life could be better. Reports of doom and destruction abound, but where are the guideposts for a world free of war and suffering, where humans treat each other with respect and compassion?
Two recent films point the way. The children’s movie Zootopia portrays a utopian society where predators and prey live together peacefully. This positive message helped the film earn huge success at the box office. The dialogue is smart and filled with insightful humor, with two of the funniest scenes ever.
The second film of hope comes from Michael Moore, whose Where to Invade Next should be must viewing in every school, and for every concerned citizen. The film clearly shows how much better life could be if we only switched our focus from “me” to “us.” And didn’t spend half of our collective wealth on warfare.
Moore visits nine countries to show how enlightened some of their social practices are. Paying just slightly more in taxes than they would here, people in these countries reap many of the benefits Bernie Sanders has been speaking about. And perhaps most surprising, Moore points out the origin of each of these progressive concepts is the good old U.S.A.
1) In Italy, workers enjoy month-long paid vacations, generous sick pay, and maternity leaves. They enjoy two-hour lunches at home with their family. The head of the Ducati plant is asked why he is so generous with his employees rather than paying himself more. He replies that all people deserve a good standard of living, when you treat workers well they do better work, benefiting everyone, and how much does one person need to enjoy life anyway? “Aren’t these things obvious,” he asks Moore?
2) In France, school children are fed gourmet meals on fine china with an emphasis on nutrition and fresh, local fare. The children are appalled by an example of a typical American school lunch menu.
3) All education, including college, is free in Slovenia.
4) In Finland, children attend school for shorter hours, get less homework, have few standardized tests, and rank among the most highly educated in the world.
5) Norway outlawed capital punishment. It believes even the worst criminals can be rehabilitated. The maximum sentence for murder is 21 years. Their prisons are more like spas than places to be punished. The result? Their crime rate is among the lowest in the world, and few who go through their penal system return.
6) Tunisia offers all women free health care, despite the Islamist regime.
7) In Portugal, all drugs are legal, and if you have a problem, help is readily available. They have no “war on drugs.” And no drug epidemic or its attendant crime and human misery.
8) Iceland actually threw its corrupt bankers into jail, led by female policy makers. Perhaps it’s time for women to have a turn at the helm, Moore muses. We men certainly have screwed things up royally for long enough.
9) In Germany, awareness of the holocaust infuses everyday life, as a responsibility to never forget. They understand the need for constant vigilance in the face of pervasive racism and bigotry.
Moore ends his film at the site of the Berlin Wall, which stood for years as an impenetrable barrier, yet was torn down overnight. Anything and everything is possible. We simply need to make good choices. Americans have just that opportunity in the coming election.
(Sol Solomon lives in Sutton Mills.)