  This was published in the July 1, 2004 Lincoln Journal Star Letter to the Editor Section On conservative talk shows and even in op-ed pieces in local and national papers, people have been loud in their criticisms of the new Michael Moore film "Fahrenheit 9/11. " Criticism is a normal and even healthy part of democracy, it really is, but what has disturbed me is that many are calling Moore's latest film "unpatriotic," and in many ways this just confirms many suspicions that I have had about this country. We went to Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction and destroy al-Qaida, neither of which occurred, so the Bush administration is telling everyone that we are going to democratize Iraq. I can't wait to see how we do it. How can the United States tell the Iraqis about the wonders of democracy when only 30 percent of us show up at the polls? How can we tell Iraq about democracy when unpopular voices are told they are unpatriotic when they question our leadership? How can we tell Iraq about democracy when the inherent conflict that makes democracy work is slowly being tamed? What Michael Moore did was patriotic, especially if you disagree with him. Dissent is not just a feature of democracy; it is its cornerstone. Without an alternative point of view there can be no choice, there can be no democracy. Tyler 
