If there is one film that should be shown in every school across America, “Bowling for Columbine” would be it.

The U.S. has more gun-related fatalities than Germany, France, Canada, England, Australia and Japan – combined. So what is it that makes us so much worse than the rest of the world when it comes to bloodshed?

I know what you’re thinking — the answer is simple. It is because we own more guns than any of those countries, right?

Wrong. Take a drive up north to Canada and you’ll find seven million guns in about 10 million households. Canadians don’t have the problems Americans do when it comes to murder, so that rules that theory out.

What else could lead us to be the crazy, shoot-first, think-later nation we have become? That is the question director Michael Moore tries to answer in his new documentary “Bowling for Columbine.”

Though many would be quick to label this film a documentary, as I just did, it is narrative filmmaking at its finest. You will not find better storytelling in a theater this year. Moore practices what some call “guerrilla journalism.” He carries a camera and microphone and approaches people with tough questions. By doing so, people are forced to give straight answers since they are lacking the time to spin the response.

Sure, Moore is a leftist thinker, so one could expect President Bush to take a beating in this film. And he does. What many will be surprised to see is former President Clinton taking just as much heat from Moore, mainly for the onslaught of bombs he dropped on Kosovo the morning of the Columbine attacks.

Moore argues that instead of blaming shock-rocker Marilyn Manson’s music as an influence for the deadly attack, maybe the two boys were inspired by the senseless violence that occurred just that morning by the hands of President Clinton and the U.S. military. The teens also went bowling before the attacks (hence the title “Bowling for Columbine”), so perhaps one of our beloved pastimes is to blame for their homicidal rage.

Moore argues the answer lies in fear and spread of it. Most of that spread can be attributed to today’s fear-obsessed media. Moore throws out some stats, such as how the murder rate has dropped 20 percent but news coverage of the crime has climbed 600 percent.

Moore goes on in an attempt to prove his theory through interviews with James Nichols (brother of Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols), Matt Stone (co-creator of South Park), Marilyn Manson and NRA president Charlton Heston. Some of the statements out of Heston’s mouth come off racist, leading many to feel hatred for the man, while others may argue his recent Alzheimer-like symptoms are responsible for his slow reaction time.

Whether you are a Michael Moore fan or not, one would have to conclude that we are living in a culture built on fear. We’re scared of terrorists, criminals, drug dealers, foreigners, homosexuals, black men, the Y2K virus, 9-11, snipers, killer bees and razor blades hidden inside apples.

Let’s hope “Bowling For Columbine” will help us realize that the problem is not guns, but our mindset.