When Miller and many others spoke for the war, their statements were positive and constructive. Their central message was their support for the Prez or his policy instead of berating the anti-war folks. The Anti-war celebs' messages were mostly negative and divisive. They spoke because they want to blast dubya, in fact their distaste of Bush is probably the only reason they oppose the war. The conservative equivalent of the shrill left are people who would attack the dems or the left as traitors, for example Jerry Farwell. But these people seem to have far less influence and often get promptly ridiculed.
I think she said made the comment because they saw how much anti-American stuff was going on in other countries. She was probably just trying to make the audience cheer or something like that. I don't think she would have said her comment on American soil. But I could be wrong.
TheFreak, yeah, I got it! "Ahhh, California." I hear what you're saying, and I completely understand. I just think in this day and age, where we have so many divisive things going on in our world, I'm more willing to think that people are good-hearted about their intentions-from President Bush to Miss Dixie Chick.
Screw the niceness, I'm calling double standard. Write it down. It doesn't have to be about Iraq, any liberal celeb who speaks out is subject to the usual "what do they know," "celebs should shut up," yadda yadda yadda. Don't drill in ANWR, don't drop Kyoto, I'm Barbara Streisand, etc.
Perhaps some conservative celebrities Do know more about certain issues? Several weeks ago, the pro-war pitchman was Fred Thompson, the anti-war spokesman was (chuckle) Mike Farrell. Martin Sheen, afterall, only plays President on Television. Liberal celebrities, when they offer constructive opinions, are often well respected. Bono was well versed on the question of debt relief, and many people, including many conservative politicians, respected and even agreed with him.
You still aren't giving me a real reason. You just insert a chuckle and mention Mike Farrell and Martin Sheen. What, Is Law & Order a better show than M.A.S.H. and the West Wing, what makes Fred Thompson more knowledgable than other celebs? DOUBLE STANDARD Bono doesn't count, he's doing something that is nearly impossible to criticize, though I shouldn't hold my breath and believe it didn't or won't happen. I've read comments on other boards that were very disparaging to the work he was doing.
Well, Fred Thompson was a Senator, but he was also an actor before that...plus, there's another actor out there that conservative idolize.
Where's the double standard? In case you hadn't noticed, almost all of Hollyweird is liberal. If these people were getting penalized for their views, 90% of actors would be hurting.
It's not about penalizing, it's about people b****ing. Opinions and what not. When have I blasted Arnold for comparing Dems to Socialists and Communists? I freakin love Bruce Willis. I don't call them weirdos for thinking differently, do I? There is a double standard. Bill O'Reily is always calling out celebs who speak out with different views, but then slapping them on the back if they agree with his views.
Really? There are hundreds of celebrities in Hollywood where I couldn't tell you their views. I think the vast majority of actors and actresses are apolitical. And of course, the double standard is criticizing liberal celebrities, regardless of their quantitiy, when they profess an opinion, but not criticizing conservative celebrities, regardless of their quantity, when they do the same thing. Not rocket science.
On the Iraq issue, many (not all) celebrities of the left pronounced vocal convictions that are much louder and more extreme than celebrities of non-liberal leanings (you can't classify Miller anything but a libertarian). Many, including the chicks, came in the arena of public opinion with no intention to debate but to shout others down. The Dixie Chicks were moderate in comparison. The opinions of the left were not taken seriously because they were often sole attacks on Bush. They are called anti-war but their main obsession was the seat of the president. They are often brutally outgunned in knowledge of history, politics and foreign affairs in debates with conservatives (Mike Farrell was demolished by Thompson on face the press). Certainly not all conservative celebrities are not well-trained in politics, but at least most of them are not so vocal in their opinions. If the public find the liberal celebrities to be ridiculous, it is because they are, re: Alec Baldwin, Streisand, et al. The point of the Bono story is that when celebrities back meaningful causes and advocate positions they are prepared to defend, they get respect from people, irrespective of their political affiliation. But when they do stupid things, people will laugh at them, also irrespective of their political affiliation. Idiots get laughed at, whether they are celebrity or not, Republican or Democrat. However, there does seem to be more liberal entertainers than coservative ones. that might be the source of the perceived bias.
Of course, when your opinion is different from theirs, they are obviously wierdos, idiots and not worth listening to. If the Dixie Chick had said, "We love America. If you don't support us, screw you," I'm sure the response from the world of country music and conservative talk radio/tv (and BBS) would be markedly different. Point is, we all have opinions and we all have a right to express them however we like. Disagreeing with an opinion is different from disagreeing with the right to have one. Saying that all actors and musicians have no business having any opinion and expressing it in an open forum is no different than saying none of us has a right to express an opinion. It's what gives Barbara Streisand the right to be a self-righteous blowhard as much as Mel Gibson despite the fact that their viewpoints are in diametric opposition.
There is a difference between moderate and extreme opinions. "We love America. If you don't support us, screw you," is not a well-stated opinion, and if they said that people would still not afford them much respect. Lance Armstrong said he had not decided his stance on the war and need more time to think it over. Because his statement is moderate and much more intelligent, the people and the media would respect that more. In fact very few pro-war celebrities made statements on par with "We love America. If you don't support us, screw you," however, most anti-war slogans are as extreme as the hypothetical example you gave.
About 1/2 and half. Some cheers some boos. Ohio is pretty conservative so he should have done his homework a lil more.
Nobody (that I know) pays $50 for a ticket to be entertained by Arnold, Bruce or Pat Sajack to hear them say "I feel really uncomfortable saying this, but I really wanted to say I think the current administration has made us all afraid to go out in public, to sporting events and to concerts like this" It would be comparable to paying $10 to watch an Arnold movie tehn mid-way thru stopping the movie and having his mug on screen saying "War is good, support President Bush". Freaking entertainers think they can influence peopel but the only people they can influence are very stupid people. The same type that woudl switch their food choice by what the celeb is advertising for. Anyways I'll get off my soap box but I don't like it when these celebs do this on their shows. They can talk all they want on 20/20 interviews but not at shows people pay for.
OK guys here is the bottom line. If you are a PUBLIC FIGURE and you choose to make a comment that the public does not agree with then the public has the right to show how they disagree with your comment. The public can do it anyway they feel is right, such as boycotting, protests, telling the person to shut up, calling them a moron, or whatever. Free speech doesn't allow people to say whatever they want without being critized by other people. It simply means the government can't stop her from saying what she is saying. With that being said I think celebs and entertainers should shut the hell up and quit making moronic statements. Hell I was at Mozart's, a nice coffee shop off the lake in Austin, and this girl was performing. She had a nice voice and kind of reminded me of something like Norah Jones with a guitar and not a piano. I was enjoying her music and I was thinking about buying one of her CDs until she was like "Well, I've never really been political before, but I decided to write an anti-war song." and I was like thinking "Oh well I'm not buying her CD anymore". I listened to the song and ended up leaving about half way through the next song because her political song just completely ruined everything since it had absolutely nothing to do with the theme of the rest of her music. I am all for people stating their point of view, but if you do be prepared to confront people who disagree with you and accept the consequences when people stop supporting you. Ok thats my little story thanks for listening.
