So, Michael Moore‘s new movie, Fahrenheit 9/11, is coming out this Friday, and I’m really interesting in seeing it. Now, being as his last movie, Bowling for Columbine, was pretty much a diatribe against Lockheed Martin, some of my coworkers are understandably concerned that I would supporting the guy financially.

So, this brings up an interesting quandry. Because the powers that be have decided it is necessary to pay money to hear someone else’s idea if that person decides to promulgate their ideas via books, seminar, or documentary, then would that encourage people to show their disagreement by “boycotting” that person’s idea by not listening?

It seems that a “consumer” must then decide whether or not they agree with an idea before they’ve actually heard what the person has to say.

Of course, not all media is like this. Radio and television, generally speaking, do not require direct payments to individual shows, so there is no-one telling me that I should show my disapproval of the ideas on NPR by not listening. Nor do liberals feel they are supporting Rush Limbaugh by listening to his show.

Of course, if Michael Moore was really interested in simply promoting his ideas, then it might be in his interest to offer free tickets to those who would otherwise not attend.

Our culture is entertainment oriented, and in order to reach the masses, you need to wrap your message in an entertaining package. And entertainment is subjective.

A reviewer in PhillyBurbs wrote, “Even those people who hate Michael Moore – and they are legion – might agree that he asks some very tough questions that deserve to be answered.” Sadly, many will refuse to pay money to hear the questions asked.