Even though I had read in reviews that "Fahrenheit 9-11 is a powerful film," I was still not prepared for the emotions it evoked, including intense sadness.

Michael’s Moore’s controversial documentary "Fahrenheit 9-11," looks like a therapeutic intervention intended to jolt us out of "Groupthink."

The textbook definition of groupthink is, "The tendency of highly cohesive groups to assume that their decisions can't be wrong: that all members must support the group’s decision and ignore information contrary to it: feeling that the group is infallible and morally superior, that there should be no more discussion of the issues at hand, and the only task now is to support it as strongly as possible."

Sadly, that definition also describes the dynamics in the Bush administration. President Bush admits to not having independent sources of news, and information, relying solely on closest advisors. Those in the administration who voice different opinions and concerns are sanctioned with negative feedback, marginalization (e.g., Secretary of State Colin Powell), and dismissal. "Mind guarding" is the norm.

The problem is that groupthink reduces critical thinking, potentially resulting in poor decisions, with disastrous consequences.

Future psychology students will study the decision-making process our current leaders used regarding Iraq, and conducting the "War on Terror."

Trauma from September 11th left Americans fearful, angry, and vulnerable to persuasion. Americans saw President Bush as a parent figure, the adult designated with the responsibility and authority to protect them.

President Bush's arguments were very emotional, and fear-based. He told us that war, and illegal and unconstitutional conduct were absolutely necessary and justified, and asked for blind trust.

Americans are less interested in foreign affairs, relative to our European counterparts. When people don't have much information on a subject, or pre-existing opinions, they are most easily persuaded by one-sided arguments. Contradictory information and counter-arguments are not even considered.

American media felt obliged to support Bush’s leadership, and were afraid to critically question his policies. The media in other countries, who did not feel the same pressure to be "patriotically correct," were able to be objective.

As a consequence, the world Americans saw on their television and in their newspapers was literally a different world than the world that people in other countries knew. Most of the people in the world opposed Bush’s unlawful and violently destabilizing responses to 9-11, realizing that the way we were "fighting terror," actually would increase it.

Our national symbols of authority and credibility were used almost exclusively to manipulate Americans into an unwise war: a State of The Union Speech, with members of Congress silently and respectfully listening; the White House; and numerous speeches on stages using U.S. servicemen and flags as props. The opposing political party failed to present alternative viewpoints effectively.

A way to reduce groupthink is to encourage openness, dissent, and even designating someone to "play the devils advocate," and actively question the logic of the group.

The U.S. media wasn't "the devils advocate" our nation needed. They didn't question the abandonment of the rule of law, and policies that would cause such alienation in our relationships with the rest of the world. Mind-guarding, they didn't fairly include and validate opposing views, and passively participated in ridicule and derision of France, and Germany.

The 9-11 Commission tells us that some of the basic assumptions we had had are not true, and a majority of Americans now believe that the invasion of Iraq "was not worth it." The torture of innocent Iraqis is shocking the conscience and consciousness of our nation. Our civil liberties are being compromised and jeopardized in unnecessary ways. We are primed to hear Moore’s message.

"Fahrenheit 9-11" will therapeutically play the devil's advocate on our "War On Terror."

If even half of what Moore portrays is accurate, then our nation needs to face painful realities we avoided during a period of groupthink. Awareness of feelings arising from those realizations is important: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and eventual acceptance.

Admitting neglect, abandonment, and betrayal is the beginning of healing, and re-empowerment.

Robert E. Griffin (FORTYFORT1@aol.com) is a Psychologist in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania.

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