Where to Invade Next

Imagine sending children to public school knowing that their meals are prepared by chefs who take nutrition seriously.

In Michael Moore's newest movie, "Where to Invade Next," Moore pretends to be a one-man "invader" of Germany, Finland, Italy, France, Tunisia, Slovenia, Norway and other countries--not to conquer them or teach them anything, but to learn what they can teach us. It's a thought-provoking film, to say the least, and I highly recommend it.

In France, American Michael Moore sits down with a quiet group of children eating family style, passing the vegetables and fruit and cheese trays to each other.  They are served things like scallops and cabbage and Camembert cheese.  He offers them a sip of his coke, which they politely decline (all but one girl who takes a tiny sip and says "it's okay").

He shows the chef texted-from-home photos of American school lunches and the chef says, "That's not food!" The children in the French school don't eat french fries but once or twice a year, and are never served sloppy joes, pizza or canned vegetables.  And the cost of their fresh meals at school?  Less than American schools spend!

Happiness and fulfillment are viewed in some countries as top priorities, and education is as challenging for poor kids as kids whose parents have means.  Teachers don't teach to standardized tests and the kids don't take multiple choice tests.

Prisoners are treated well in Norway, and prisons are meant for rehabilitation. The mindset in so many countries offering workers extensive paid leaves for vacations is that those on the lower rungs of the corporate ladders should be given the same time off for relaxation and rest as those at the top.

"How can you Americans go to sleep at night?" one woman asked, "Knowing that your friends and neighbors are struggling to eat and get health care?"