Dr. Von Bulow's Articles

I’m not sure I selected this title because I just saw a movie or because I just dropped 11 grand on new hardware that doesn’t seem to let me put the dang title in the middle of the page just the way I like. But then maybe I’m just looking for some capitalistic love in all the wrong places.

So alright, you win. It was the movie.

And admit it; you guys probably have some innocent guilty pleasures just like me. Stuff like chocolate, purses, shoes, cigars; or maybe even flossing, or something totally cool…like USC football.

Don’t know about you but I don’t necessarily need any company when I’m indulging. Especially when I’m watchin’ Trojan road games or going to Michael Moore movies.

Why am I such a fan of Moore’s stuff? There are times when I’m practically positive I think Moore is awesome just because most of my molar jockey brethren can’t stand him (that alone is better than any fish oil or load of amino acids for my heart and soul.)

There’s more. I’m at least open to Moore’s views most of the time and again, that could just be my basic, usual, and customary anti-conservative DDS reflex. But I do have to admit I like the guy’s audacity; he’s totally fearless. Fearless enough to pull an armored truck up to AIG’s double-doors and ask for the Bailout money back. Audacious enough to surround all of Wall Street with yellow crime scene tape and reassure the Gordon Gecko wannabes inside, “You’ll like Federal prison; it’s a nice place.”

So how in the world does someone who graduated from conservative USC become an ardent fan of Michael Moore? I guess maybe the avocado doesn’t fall too far from the SoCal tree.

Moore didn’t go to college and I went mostly on my Dad’s check from the Teamsters Union. Moore’s Dad supported a family with a union job and gave his children advantages he never had. My dad had twice my brains and never had the educational opportunities he gave me. I bet Moore’s Dad never turned away from folks down on their luck; I know my Dad didn’t.

It might just be me, but Capitalism: A Love Story seemed more like a tribute to whom we used to be more than a sarcastic reference to what we’ve become im Moore’s eyes: a Facebook Fan Page where we fall in love with the concept of being the 1% that has more than 95% of the rest of us all put together.

So do we really want what the B of A and Wal-Mart have become? Do we really want to profit from the death of co-workers and cynically refer to company-owned life insurance as “Dead peasants” policies? Or do we want to send our best science/math students to Wall Street “derivatives” grad school where they can bet we lose our mortgage and hedge that bet by betting against themselves?

The movie’s not about the “S” word. Moore’s concern is that capitalism (more accurately a plutocracy) is causing us to lose sight of democracy. During the last several decades, Moore sees only one surviving American value: Money. Humanity, responsibility, and compassion seem to be fading fast.

By the time the credits are rolling, it’s clear that Moore is anything but maybe the only living lifetime NRA member/Socialist. Instead, Moore comes off as an unrepentant, modern day FDR-admiring New Dealer inspired by the possibilities of a restored democracy fueling opportunities for everyone, including hard-working Americans in the survival mode. And Moore sees the steady decline of unions and the country’s current dilemma as no coincidence.

I’m pretty sure my Dad would agree. And I may be a Trojan molar jockey but I still have my Teamster withdrawal card.

I’m sitting here listening to some Sinatra and thinking about the Kennedys. And isn’t it funny the way I seem to identify more and more with my parents?

Sinatra was there for Mom and Dad and I guess if you took a deep breath, rolled the dice, and still pursued the American Dream during the Depression you were apt to be emotionally attached to FDR.

Some of my more conservative friends will never get this but losing Senator Ted Kennedy to cancer this past week hit me like a loss in the family. I think I understand but I’m not so sure I can really explain.

When I do my “The Secret” thing every morning and click off all the length of stuff that merits my lasting gratitude, I start with my family and follow with my childhood.

Things were pretty innocent back in The Day. A kid could have heroes. I had many. No one could touch Mom and Dad and brother, Jay in the hero department but what if you were twelve years old the morning you saw JFK being sworn in on a biting cold Inauguration Day?

Don’t know about you but I’ve always been a card carrying sucker for inspiration. And maybe it was my impressionable youth but I still haven’t heard anyone more inspiring than President Kennedy. JFK made greatness seem more than possible; he made it seem natural. All you needed was the will and determination. Until that November Dallas motorcade.

When I was 21, I actually shook Robert Kennedy’s hand in Monterey Park the day before he won the California Presidential Primary. I still remember the victory speech. The disbelief that followed moments later still remains.

Within several months, Ted Kennedy and I had both suddenly lost a hero and brother. I know when I got my news that Sunday morning, a bit of my confidence and trust disappeared and never quite returned, replaced by some cynicism that unfortunately has never left.

Ted Kennedy survived some major errors in judgment, even though not all those around him were quite so lucky. He endured family tragedies, public humiliation, and lost his only chance to return a Kennedy Presidency.

I selfishly hoped against hope that Teddy could somehow regain his brothers’ inspiring promise of greatness. Instead, what I was moved to appreciate was Ted Kennedy’s ironclad will to make a difference, take a stand, and never give up.

Senator Ted Kennedy authored some 300 bills that became law. If you or a loved one has ever been confined to a wheelchair or worked for minimum wage or had a child who needed health insurance (there are approximately 6,000,000) or needed a better standard of education you can thank Ted Kennedy.

Ted Kennedy never backed down but always sought collaboration. He was always a stand for the little guy, the right thing, and the opportunity to make the most of a life comprised of faults, all too human.

In 1980, August 2008, and one last time from the voice of his son, the words, “…the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die” still touch and inspire.

He definitely wasn’t perfect and he couldn’t be JFK or RFK but he was still my hero.

RIP Teddy.