Celebrity Politicians

It seems these days the prevalence of actors and musicians in the political arena has exploded. I wonder sometimes why it seems the vast majority of them hang on the far left wing.

Part of the answer to that is obvious. “Artists” have always been the type of people to push the envelope, seek out new avant garde ideas. They are naturally attracted to “free thinkers” and anti-establishment rhetoric.

Along with that inclination comes what I see as a complete lack of common sense. If I ever found myself thrust into celebrityhood, the last thing I would want to do is run out and trash the President or be a frontman for radical groups. Even though I do tilt right in my philosophy, you wouldn’t see me denouncing John Kerry or Al Gore or Howard Dean or Hillary Clinton from the stage or David Letterman’s couch. I’d quietly contribute to candidates I like, and would accept invitations to perform for anybody from either political party who asks, but the general public would never really know where I stood politically.

Because if you are an entertainer, why cut your own throat to grab a political spotlight? Look at Barbra Streisand, the Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen, Linda Ronstadt, and a near-endless list of Bush-hating musicians who spout their political invective everywhere they go. How many people stopped buying their music out of distaste for what they were doing politically? More to the point, was it worth the loss of sales, given the reality that their activism did little or nothing to help there cause? They have become so arrogant as to think their mere celebrity is enough to change a conservative’s mind to suddenly become a pacifist Bush-hater.

Celebrities live in an insular world, where they never get a chance to meet real people. I suspect they view most of the rest of us as some unwashed ignorant mob, that they spend most of their time trying to avoid. Many of them probably don’t have even a single acquaintance who goes to church every Sunday and is raising 3 or 4 kids in a traditional family setting. Those people (like me) might as well be from Mars, as far as a Susan Sarandon is concerned. These celebrities have no idea what the lives of most of us are like, but instead have formed attitudes based on ridiculous stereotypes promoted by their small circle of rich and famous friends.

I believe that celebrities are so accustomed to being worshipped and adored by all the fans they see at their concerts or public appearances that they begin to believe they are worthy of such worship. They’re not just attractive and talented, they’re smart and witty and wise. Why not, isn’t that what virtually everyone tells them every day of their pampered lives?

So celebrities are clueless about how stupid they really look when they parrot left-wing platitudes or come up with a cute new euphemism to equate the President with Hitler. They arrogantly spout Michael Moore-ism's on talk shows when they really don't have the slightest idea about the actual truth of the topic.

How many of them make a show of driving their expensive new hybrid automobile to the airport to fly to their next gig in their personal Gulfstream jet, completely oblivious to their comical hypocrisy. How many of them expend more energy to heat, cool, and light their various estates for a week than most people use over an entire year? They still don’t stop railing against oil and coal and nuclear, somehow instead choosing to believe the only reason we don’t convert to “alternative” and environmentally-friendly energy sources is some sort of Republican conspiracy.

They get homicidally angry thinking about Christians who they believe are "judging" them for their serial marriages, homosexuality, abortions, and general bacchanalia lifestyles. So angry that they have convinced themselves that Christians are more dangerous than the Radical Islamists who are the only ones blowing people up in the name of their religion.

What really floors me is a celeb like Danny Glover, hugging Hugo Chavez like he’s some sort of hero. Is Danny so stupid as to not know that Hugo is a Communist Dictator? Does he not know what Communists do when they take power? I assume Danny’s pretty well heeled, given his status as a Hollywood star. Has he ever even considered asking Hugo what would happen to his wealth if Hugo were made the Communist Dictator-for-Life of the United States? Would he be happy to hand over all his money and property to Hugo in return for a government-owned efficiency apartment, perhaps receiving a bicycle and subway pass in place of his collection of luxury and classic automobiles? What if Danny didn’t like something about Hugo’s new government and decided to speak out? Doesn’t he know that saying anything at all critical of Hugo’s government would get him an immediate ticket to prison? A prison where mistreatment, malnutrition and torture are standard operating procedure, he’s locked up for an indeterminate amount of time on charges never fully explained, and where its more likely he will die in prison than return to his life?

Celebrities, if you want a good example of how to make your mark on society without alienating half the country, may I suggest you observe the Manning brothers. After Katrina, Peyton and Eli didn’t go on a bunch of TV talk shows to trash Bush and accuse him of wanting to kill off poor black folks in New Orleans. Instead, they got together and shipped as many supplies as they could to the area and passed them out to people in need.

Stop talking politics, celebrities. You are just actors and singers, not experts in government policy. What you do will tell the world more about you than anything you say.