Dude, Where's My Country?

Dude, Where's My Country?
Dude, Where's My Country? cover
Author(s)	Michael Moore
Publisher	Warner
Publication date	2003
ISBN	0-446-53223-1
OCLC Number	53112245
LC Classification	E902 .M65 2003

Dude, Where's My Country? is a 2003 book by Michael Moore dealing with corporate and political events in the United States. The title is a takeoff of the 2000 film Dude, Where's My Car?.

The book covers many topics and is written in a heavily satirical fashion, common to much of Moore's work.

Outline

In the book, Moore attacks corporate America and President George W. Bush, whom he accuses of destroying "my America of tolerance and peace". He lashes out against the 2003 Iraq War in particular. The Enron Corporation, and particularly Chairman Ken Lay, also received a lot of flak.

Topics covered range from who the Democrats should put up for the presidency (Moore proposes Oprah Winfrey or, surprisingly, General Wesley Clark, once the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO) right through to 'How to talk to your conservative brother-in-law', a guide on how to avoid interpersonal conflicts at Thanksgiving dinner with the family. On page 87 Moore praises Oprah Winfrey for being the only mainstream media to show antiwar footage two months before the war that no other U.S. media would show.

Breaking from some on the left, Moore at one point in his book says that "Mumia probably killed that guy". Activists supporting the Black Panther Party's Mumia Abu-Jamal are demanding Moore substantiate this claim. Moore in a later interview stated that he worded that statement badly, he didn't really believe that Mumia Abu Jamal killed the police officer, and that he'd change it for the paperback release. The book does go on to say "This takes nothing away from the eloquence of his writings or commentary, or the important place he holds on the international political stage". Moore's point is that he says he does not adhere to black and white political 'positions' but to less party political, more "common sense" points of view. A statement probably backed up by the fact that he is at the same time, a member of the National Rifle Association, despite his ardent views on gun control--see Bowling for Columbine.

Many of the views expressed are shared by political writers like Noam Chomsky in his book Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance and a recent BBC documentary called The Power of Nightmares -- all of which sharply criticise the neo-conservative movement in the U.S.

After publishing Stupid White Men, an earlier work, Michael Moore was accused of not providing references to back up his statements. As a response to this, Dude, Where's My Country? includes thorough references.

External links

• Sample chapter
• Booknotes interview with Moore on Dude, Where's My Country, November 16, 2003.

References

• Moore, Michael (2003) Dude, Where's My Country? ISBN 0-446-53223-1.