Columnist must find, work on own truth

I usually try to find the logic behind Viewpoint columnists I
don’t agree with, like Garin Hovannisian. But something
Hovannisian recently wrote has compelled me to write in.

In his column, “Lauded filmmaker spreads lies,
deceit” (Viewpoint, May 26), Hovannisian writes about the
many “mis-truths” spread by filmmaker Michael Moore.
Though I am ideologically aligned with Moore, I am not a
“disciple” of his that blindly follows his
crusades.

I couldn’t help but notice that Hovannisian’s
research came from a Yahoo! Web search. Maybe when he spends a few
more years in college, he will notice that many professors strictly
forbid the Internet as a research tool because of its unreliability
and tendency to produce lies.

It seems Hovannisian has his own slant of the truth
or fails to look at the whole picture. Hovannisian writes
that Moore’s anger with Disney for refusing to distribute
“Fahrenheit 911″ was just a publicity stunt because
Disney had really refused to show the film a year earlier.

But here’s another theory. Maybe it was all a marketing
ploy for Disney. Perhaps Disney was hoping to capitalize on a
hot political year that has already seen numerous popular political
books, raking in millions, claiming authority
on President Bush and his administration. But this
is all conjecture. The truth is, I know about as much as
Hovannisian does. People can’t claim to know the ins and outs
of the corporate entertainment industry.

But Moore does not “hate the United States” as
Hovannisian would have his readers believe. Moore loves the United
States; he is so critical of it because he is afraid of the
direction it is heading in and believes we are capable of doing
better. Don’t most of us feel this country has been
heading in the wrong direction for years? I wonder if our parents
left school with the same anxiety and fear that we are leaving
with. Ask them.

Are we heading in the wrong direction? I think our work
toward a free, peaceful and balanced global society is hardly close
to being complete. Does Hovannisian believe the rhetoric from our
current administration so blindly that he believes destroying
countries should bring welcoming masses heaping flowers and
love?

Why do I have the feeling that Hovannisian is just ranting? Why
do I feel that he is just spewing out the same rants he hears on
Fox News Channel and conservative talk radio?

The truth is, I have no clue why Hovannisian writes what he
writes. I have no clue where he gets his information or
whether or not he listens to conservative talk radio. I
don’t know the guy, and I shouldn’t try to break down
everything he writes, thinking that somehow I know better than
anyone else. I’d rather work on my own truth, not spend my
time disputing and criticizing other people’s
views. I hope future columnists in the Daily Bruin and the
world at large adopt this motto, because it is the only way
our divided and polarized world can be sane again.

Lopez-Balbontin is a fourth-year theater student.