February 12, 2003 5:36 AM

OK, maybe they really do have something to add...nah....

Stars' views shouldn't be so easily written off

It's been awfully easy to ridicule Hollywood's "limousine Liberals". Lord knows I've done my share of it. For me, unlike most Conservatives, my reason for making light of them is not their their dissent, but simply that they set themselves up for it with their hubris and naivete.

Jessica Lange is against it. So is Susan Sarandon.

Bonnie Raitt's not in favor of bombing Baghdad. Neither are Michael Stipe, Madonna and Martin Sheen, who plays a president on television but thinks the real one is a "moron.''

When it comes to the impending war on Iraq, a phalanx of famous faces is speaking out against it. Which means that everything they say is being blasted by pro-war pundits, who believe celebrities should confine their opinions to the Zone diet and stay out of demilitarized zones.

Take for instance the shellacking that singer Sheryl Crow recently got after appearing at the American Music Awards in a T-shirt sequined with the message "War is not the answer.'' As she told reporters, "I think war is based in greed and there are huge karmic retributions that will follow. I think war is never the answer to solving any problems. The best way to solve problems is to not have enemies."

Though Jesus Christ, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. all expressed similar thoughts, they didn't have the misfortune of living in a world with FOX News. Conservative critics were worse to her than music critics, referring to her as a "noted geopolitical strategist" who "probably thinks Saddam Hussein is a New York City cabdriver.''

It's true, she might not have been especially eloquent on the subject, but neither is our own president. Just a few days after the Crow flap, Bush was quoted saying the United States had to go to war against Iraq because of Saddam Hussein's "willingness to terrorize himself.'' It's a safe bet no one on FOX News made fun of him.

Frankly, people like Sheryl Crow have brought the ridicule upon themselves. It's not that their opinions are worthless. It's the assumption that their celebrity will somehow automatically make Americans sit up and take them seriously. Yes, they are entitled to their opinions, and like any of us are entitled to express them. How, though, does Madonna making an anti-war video or Sheryl Crow warning of "huge karmic retribution" advance the anti-war cause? I'm pretty certain that it does not. As soon as celebrities stop setting themselves up to be ridiculed, I will stop ridiculing them- as, I imagine, will most reasonable Conservatives.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on February 12, 2003 5:36 AM.

Hamlet had the right idea: "First we'll kill all the lawyers" was the previous entry in this blog.

No, Mother Teresa isn't available, either is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 5.12