America’s Other President Under Attack
Last week, conservative cable channel Fox News published a poll concluding that two-thirds of those interviewed wanted celebrities to be silent on politics.
American celebrities asked to be silent… simply because some of their individual views might draw attention to ideas that are different from those in Washington? *blinks* Since when did our celebrities become sub-class citizens?
Anyone who has the ability to be heard should be free to express their opinions. Any non-celebrity can rally people together for a cause, it’s pure hypocracy to say this right should be removed from citizens who happen to be in the spotlight.
In society, I think there is some kind of underlying belief that celebrities, since most of us only see them in the media, are just people in fish tanks, and they exist only for our own entertainment. Their lives are perfect, and they should not be allowed to deviate from the “shiny happy people” image the consumers (and their producers) so often drape over them.
Related: Over the last week, fliers have been circulating around school about a “Strike against the war on Iraq.” Some guy handed me one in the Quad, and Bruke has had one taped to his door all week. I think the event is coming up soon. Anyway, I considered going… but I’ve decided against it now.
I was just told last night (er, early this morning) that my brother is going to be deployed. And while my personal beliefs on this war are very different from his, I still respect my brother’s decision to serve… and if he’s going to be putting himself in danger for the sake of this cause, even if it’s a cause I don’t necesarily believe in… I’m going to lend my voice to support my family, not one side or the other on this War/Anti-War political drama.
I’m chosing to have my fledgling political beliefs, but I’m also chosing to put my family first. In my case, there is still a lot of conflict between the ideas of “anti-war” and “pro-family”… but I think they are two concepts that I can hold in my mind at once, and feel more peaceful than simply being “anti-war”.
When I feel too small to be a super-hero, and I feel too intelligent politically-different to be proud of our President, then the least I can do is say “go Michael” and feel proud for him.