Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Two days ago, I went with my friend Carol to see “Fahrenheit 911.” She had seen it before; and, being a left wing liberal, she wanted to make sure that I, one of her oldest confidantes, saw it too.

Of course, I wasn’t dragged kicking and shoving, since I am somewhat of a left wing liberal myself. Besides, I had already read about Michael Moore’s film and his depiction of President George W. Bush and was curious to go with a fellow liberal. Earl does not fit the category.

I’ve never seen another Moore film, but I’ve read a lot about them. “Roger and Me” and “Bowling for Columbine” cemented his reputation as a burr under the establishment saddle. If they are anything like “Fahrenheit 911,” I can understand why. Carol and I were the only ones in the theater, so the film was obviously preaching to a very small choir.

For me, one of the most telling moments in F911, was when Moore approached various Congressmen in Washington to invite them to encourage their sons — probably mostly middle to upper class — to enlist in the military. He had already made a case that many of the current enlistees are young men and women who have a difficult future ahead of them in the towns where they reside. He also noted the irony of having our country being protected most by those who have enjoyed the least of its many advantages.

Not one Congressman said, “Yes, I’ll run home and tell my son that he should quit school and enlist so that he might risk his life in Iraq.” A couple Congressmen even refused to talk with Moore.

In fairness, the movie makes some assumptions that cannot be documented. One of these is to extrapolate what President Bush was thinking at the time of the 911 attack. To my knowledge, he has never revealed his specific thoughts as he visited an elementary school in Florida that morning. Regardless, Moore hypothesizes for us.

He also bombards the viewer with item after item about the Bush Administration. Perhaps some people will take this information at face value. What it did instead for me was make me want to learn more, to attempt to document what Moore said was the truth. Or to discover an error.

Given this is an election year, I think the film’s ultimate value lies in energizing one to learn more about the candidates for the upcoming presidential election. Maybe one test of their worthiness could be their answers to the question: “Would you encourage your child to enlist in the military?”