Why do celebrities hate America?
Over the past couple of years the ranting of Hollywood�s elite has started to bring major backlashes from their fans. The �stars� then go on the defensive claiming censorship and media bias. Ignoring the study after study that has proven the media leans liberal and that greater than 70% of reporters describe themselves as liberal, we are left to wonder if the ramblings of the rich are indeed being censored.
Merriam-Webster defines censorship as the institution, system, or practice of censoring, to examine in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable. So are the Dixie Chicks being censored when fans stop buying their records and stop attending their concerts? Obviously not. Note: the Dixie Chick�s sold out tickets for their tour in record time just before making their infamous comments in England. To judge what their fans truly thought one needs to look at record sales and attendance to their concerts after the comments were made. In case you were wondering, they both dropped dramatically. Was this the result of a couple of rogue station managers who refused to play their music after they made the statements? Doubtful.
The Dixie Chicks weren�t the first to ignite these politically charged publicity stunts. In 2000, a whole host of stars came out making such comments as, �if Bush wins, I am moving out of the country,� made by Alec Baldwin, who to my knowledge still lives in the U.S. Joined by his esteemed colleagues Martin Sheen and Barbara Streisand, they helped make anti-American comments the favorite pastime of Hollywood�s overnight millionaires club members.
In just the past few weeks we have seen a dramatic increase in comments as we draw closer to the November elections. Michael Moore released his propaganda filled film Fahrenheit 9/11, Whoopi Goldberg joined Paul Newman, Jessica Lang, and Chevy Chase for a Pro-Kerry Bush Bash Hollywood fundraiser, Elton John came out against such pro-American stars as Toby Keith labeling him as a profiteer, ignoring the money Elton himself made of the song he modified for his dear departed Princess Di, and now Linda Ronstadt has been booed off stage and banned from a top Las Vegas casino after making anti-American comments. Spokesmen for the Aladdin reported fans nearly rioted after the comments were made; fans were vandalizing posters of the opinionated singer and storming out of the event demanding their money back.
Somewhere along the line, we allowed Hollywood�s alumni to garner the belief that being rich and pampered also makes them intelligent. I think the inherent difference between stars and the rest of us is how the obtained their wealth. While the rest of us slave away day in and day out, they are able to spend a few days a year working and make millions of dollars in return. They�ve lost their connection to the common man. Paul Newman and Ben Aflec both criticized the tax cuts past by congress the last couple of years. Both of them threw the fact they have millions of dollars more than us back in our faces, saying they didn�t need the money they received in the refund and ignoring the millions of us that did and the millions more, that under that refund plan, now no longer pay income taxes to the federal government at all. Yes, it is true the two of them got a bigger refund then you or I, but it is also true they paid a vast amount more in taxes than you or I. If they do not need that extra money, they are free to give it back or donate it to one of their favorite charities, but of course I don�t see them doing that. Do you?
So is Hollywood being censored? I think Michael Moore proved that isn�t the case. Well what then has changed between the sixties and today that has made such speech so polarizing? During the sixties, Kennedy and Johnson launched us into a war none of us wanted to be in and that opinion was held by the vast majority of Americans and was naturally popular. Today however, Americans feel under attack from both the outside by terrorist who are intent on trying to destroy our way of life and from the inside by extremist liberals who are trying to whittle away at the moral value system that has made this country the greatest on Earth.
Does America have problems? Yes it does. Can we work together to fix them? I would hope so, but until those we supposedly admire start conducting themselves in a responsible fashion, it is not likely to happen.
The correct answer to last entry�s question was� 7!
Congrats to all those who got it right. You get 2 points each.
For those of you who got it wrong, you�ll receive 98 points.
Why give so much to those who got the answer wrong? Well, according to studies, given yesterdays math problem 98% of people surveyed will pick the number 7. The other 2% are different from the rest of us and thereby need something special to put them on equal footing with the majority. Call it Hotcarl�s version of affirmative action.
The great big hotcarl blog contest Leader Board.
Question number 4.
One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
Have fun,
j
9 people think they have something witty to say about this entry.
