That's Entertainment!
By Doug Hagin (02/27/03)
Ready to give up on Hollywood? Getting tired of trying to boycott movies with actors or actresses whose politics personally disgust you? Getting ready to simply forgo ever seeing anything coming out of Hollywood again?
If you indeed have answered yes to these questions then welcome to a growing group of Americans who have had quite enough of the entertainment establishment. It is a hard decision at times, choosing whether or not to ignore the politics of the cast of a new movie.
On one hand we realize America is founded upon freedoms, and one of the biggest is freedom of speech. And if some actor holds a different point of view it should be pretty easy to chalk it up to different strokes for different folks shouldn’t it?
Increasingly though the problem with Hollywood opinions is they are becoming so far removed from reason or decency frankly. Take the current host of decidedly left of center and some might argue left of sane views on the looming war with Iraq. It is one thing to oppose war, anyone with all their marbles dislikes war and would wish to avoid it. And it is a legitimate opinion to desire peace and to never want war.
In fact there are some knowledgeable, reasoned people who are offering some opposition to any United states military action in Iraq. There are even some Conservatives to be counted among those opposed to war. But again opposing war does not make one anti-American at all. And truth be told if Hollywood wishes to band together to protest military action most of us could respect them and their views.
We would strongly disagree yes, but we would not find ourselves so viscerally offended if they just remained civil about their feelings. Instead many are not opposing war as much as they are opposing America. Particularly the current president George W. Bush. It seems the protesters from Hollywood spend more time and energy finding ways to bash Bush than they do on making their case for not waging war on Saddam Hussein.
Frankly it is way past tiresome to listen to the likes of Mike Farrel and Martin Sheen talking about George Bush and his “rush to war.” There is no rush to invade Iraq by this president. Face the facts, if Bush were the “war mongering cowboy” the Hollywood elites are claiming him to be American troops would have been in Baghdad for weeks now.
It is also way past time to drop the insidious chant of “no war for oil” isn’t it? This is not about oil, it is about keeping Saddam Hussein from being a threat to everyone of us here in America. Rest assured if and when we kick out Saddam and liberate Iraq we will allow the people of Iraq to keep their oil.
If Hollywood is going to be against this war they really ought to think up a new catch phrase to replace “no war for oil” hadn’t they? And while they are at it they might as well consider not using their fake sympathy for the people of Iraq.
The people of Iraq, who these folks claim to care so much for are suffering today. Not from American bombs but from Saddam Hussein and his reign of evil. This brutal dictator is, in fact a mass murderer who has taken untold number of Iraqi lives already. Where is the compassion in allowing these people to continue being brutalized and killed? And just how is freeing them going to hurt them?
Then there is the hypocrisy of the Hollywood protestations. These folks who are now wailing and gnashing their teeth were silent in 1998 when Bill Clinton talked of going into Iraq weren’t they? They were equally silent when President Clinton lobbed 450 cruise missiles at Saddam.
Why were they so silent then and so boisterous in their opposition now? Could it be politics? Could it be that simple my friends? Could it maybe be the case that their opposition is based on Bush being a Republican?
And what of their talk of Iraq not being a direct threat to us? They may indeed believe this, and it could be a legitimate point except for two things. First off there was no direct threat to us from Bosnia was there? So why were they not opposed to military action there? Again we must wonder if the party of the two presidents plays a role in their change of tune.
Secondly there is the illogic of their claim that Iraq is not a threat. They argue on one hand saying Saddam has no weapons of mass destruction, then on the other hand they proclaim fear Saddam will use these weapons if we invade Iraq. In essence they are saying if we invade Saddam will use the weapons they claim he does not have to begin with.
Finally perhaps Hollywood and their hatred for war might seem a bit more believable if we ever saw them protesting Saddam Hussein, or Fidel Castro, or Red China, or any brutal regime for that matter.
Instead they only seem to protest war if a Republican is in the White House and the US military is trying to topple a brutal dictator.
(Printer friendly version) Email: Doug Hagin
