Filmmaker Michael Moore has a lot of guts, not just because he’ll attempt a citizen’s arrest at AIG and demand taxpayer money be given back immediately – but because he will actually sit face-to-face with right-wing talker Sean Hannity and have what, for Hannity, passes as a reasonable discussion.
Instead of becoming frustrated, yelling, or talking over one another (very minimally, anyway), Moore becomes more and more calm as Hannity begins to ratchet up his rhetoric. Hannity isn’t quite sure how to handle this kind of guest and it leads him to make one of the most outrageous statements I think I’ve ever heard Hannity make – especially when it comes to religion.
Moore and Hannity are discussing what Hannity claims are the “millions” of “Islamic” fanatics who want to attack the United States when Moore guides Hannity down the path to Hannity’s amazing religious epiphany:
MOORE: Well, listen, all religions have their fanatics, wouldn’t you agree with that?
HANNITY: Some, not all, but most, probably.
MOORE: Including ours? HANNITY: Are you one?
MOORE: I’m a religious fanatic? Yes, I am, actually. I believe that when Jesus said that you’re to love your neighbor…
HANNITY: As yourself.
MOORE: … as yourself, you’re to love your enemy. Do you love your enemy?
HANNITY: I don’t hate you, by the way.
MOORE: Do you love your enemy, though?
HANNITY: Yes, I do.
MOORE: You do?
HANNITY: I do.
MOORE: So you love Al Qaeda, then.
HANNITY: No, I don’t love them. I love them in the sense that I want to destroy them.
MOORE: I don’t think that’s the love Jesus was talking about.
The line between liberal religion and conservative religion could not be made more stark than in this exchange. Turbo-charged, military-loving, conservative Christians watching this exchange probably cheered at Hannity’s “love them to death” affirmation of how he understood Jesus’ words. Moore, however, is rightly incredulous.
I’m sure Hannity’s version of “love your enemy” will be the overarching interpretation written into the new conservative bible, but they’re going to have to do some fancy footwork to overcome the Greek word for “love” used in passages like Matthew 5:44. Here the word “agapao” means, according to Strong’s Concordance, “to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly.” Nothing there about loving someone in the sense that you want to destroy them.
So, no, Hannity does not “love” his enemy – he clearly hates his enemy and yet will proclaim that he is a Christian. But, Hannity doesn’t stop digging his own religious grave right there. He continues:
HANNITY: I want them to see — they want to go see Allah, I’m all in favor of giving them a first class ticket if — if they don’t respect human life and dignity.
What Jesus is getting at, Mr. Hannity, is that those who truly have respect for human life and dignity understand that it is better to love an enemy than it is to hate them and wish for (or facilitate) their destruction. Hannity is no better than the fanatics he condemns since has no respect for their lives or their human dignity either. What Jesus tells his followers to do is to break the cycle of violence. The forgiveness has to begin somewhere, the love has to start somewhere, and as the Christian hymn goes, “let it begin with me.”
Moore, however, isn’t finished teaching Hannity the lesson he misses the most in all of this:
MOORE: How do you think Jesus would handle this?
HANNITY: You know, it’s an interesting question.
MOORE: How do you think he’d handle this?
HANNITY: You know, Jesus would have the ability to change people’s hearts. I don’t have his powers. I wish I did.
MOORE: You’re on TV every night at 9 o’clock.
HANNITY: Oh, I have all that power, Michael.
MOORE: Well, I mean, you are on TV every night at 9 o’clock.
HANNITY: And you watch every night, I hope.
MOORE: Well, not every night, but I do watch.
HANNITY: All right.
MOORE: And you haven’t changed my heart.
Hannity has such power and influence. If he truly understood that he has changed the hearts and minds of many people in this world – and not for the better – perhaps he would begin to choose his words and deeds more carefully. For example, if someone were to take a gun to a church and commence to shooting after reading one or more of my books, I think I would start to choose my words a bit more carefully, but Hannity seems willfully ignorant of his own power. He can use his bully pulpit for evil or for good, and nightly, he chooses to sow seeds of discontent and hatred, then deny that anything he said could lead another person to commit acts of violence and destruction against their perceived “enemies.” But, alas, love and peace don’t make for good dramatic television which means ratings drop which means profits drop which means Hannity is back to renting an apartment and flying coach. Capitalism, as Moore has described it in his movie, is working for Hannity and he sees no need to change his message. It’s easier to change what Jesus meant by “love your enemies” than to change a message that makes you millions of dollars a year.
At its heart, Moore’s film is what it is billed as – a love story. The movie is a very real embodiment of Jesus’ command to love those who would rather destroy than build up, who would rather horde than distribute fairly, and who would rather cheat than play by the rules. In this interview, Moore gives liberals a road map to deal with the Hannitys of the world. We don’t have to scream at them or do fierce battle against them. Instead, calmly call them on their lies, let them unmask themselves for the fakes and frauds that they really are – and continue to love them anyway.
