I saw Capitalism: A Love Story in a basement theater in Midtown Manhattan, at the base of Trump Towers. As I left the theater and returned to street level, my surroundings and the film’s message collided dramatically. After two hours of witnessing the evils of capitalism or, as Michael Moore puts it, “legal greed,” I found myself staring at the gleaming skyscrapers named after the richest developer in the country, home to the 1% who live at the top. of the pyramid. …

Most days I don’t think about it much, but tonight the contrast is stark. I enter the subway and see the poorest 1% settling down for a miserable night on wooden benches, pulling up their wire shopping carts and wrapping their ragged blankets a little tighter.

As someone who works with homeless New Yorkers on a daily basis, I can name people who have been crushed by capitalism and swept under its beautiful rug. I am also a daily witness to the mad rush of those who have been caught in the rat race for more here in the capital of the capitalist world. I’m not better, I also feel the universal attraction of materialism at times, and the attractions of the toxic pleasures of this city. I too am susceptible to their propaganda. But this movie really got me thinking and left me with a lot of new questions. I guess that’s the point.

A man quoted in the film called Wall Street a “sacred place” and suggested that capitalism – each person making as much money as they can – is a gift from God. Other voices in the film called capitalism “evil.” Who has the reason?

If materialistic greed is Moore’s main goal (and it clearly is in this film), why will so many people avoid watching it? What are they afraid of? Is “socialism” a word that seemed to scare several people in the movie? Am I a socialist if I help the poor and share my abundance with those in need?

In my opinion, every thinking American should watch this movie and chew on it. Why? Very simple, because your conscience stings you. On one level, it’s classic Moore, with wry humour, irreverence (especially towards conceited people), subtle exaggeration, and the deft use of people’s own words to incriminate themselves. But broadly speaking, every point Moore makes is painfully true, and in this film, more than in the previous ones, you feel the heart of a man who has compassion for the downtrodden.

Moore’s most effective challenges in this film are directed at those of us who say we are Christians. He goads those who claim to follow Jesus and yet advocate a system that is completely contrary to his example. Moore does not quote the following passage from James 5 in his film, but as I walked out of the theater it came to mind:

Now listen, you rich, weep and moan because of the misery that will befall you. Your wealth has rotted and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and your silver are corroded. Its corrosion will testify against you and will devour your flesh like fire. You have accumulated riches in the last few days. Look! The wages you failed to pay to the workers who cut down your fields cry out against you. The cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves on the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who did not oppose you.

So did this strong warning, from the same letter (James 2):

What is the use, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith and has no works? Can that kind of faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothing and daily food. If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you the best; stay warm and well fed,” but he does nothing for his physical needs, what good is he? Similarly, faith alone, if not accompanied by action, is dead.

Who taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and what does it mean? If we all truly followed this mandate, what system would we choose for ourselves and our children? Whether you like Michael Moore or not, you should take the time to go see Capitalism: A Love Story.