Celebrities & Politics
 

With Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon delivering truckloads of signed petitions to the UN today against the war, the question arises, do celebritites carry more weight on your political views than every day citizens? Should they even be given air time on the news for their protests? Would you rather get your political stances from CNN, Martin Sheen, coworkers or some other place?

Re: Celebrities & Politics
 

Good question there, Agger!

Not only no, but HELL NO! I'm all for freedom of speech, but with that freedom comes certain responsibilities.

Sure, I'll listen to the opposing point of view, even though I may violently disagree with it. They have the right to take their political views to the mass media, but I reserve the right to turn off my TV set or change the channel.

Re: Celebrities & Politics
 

Should they? Probably not...

Will they? Yup.

Why -- celebrities make good TV. If you show Tim Robbins talking about what he had for breakfast this morning you are guaranteed ratings. Celebrity involvement in politics goes back as long as we've had celebrities! They used to be war heroes, now they're actors. Ronnie Reagan even became Pres!

They have every right to use their celebrity for that if they want - that's done in local politics all the time - but does it carry more weight with me? Hell no. I love Barbra Streisand's voice, but I can't stand her politics.

They probably do a lot in making issues easier to understand than some of the political wonks (Al Gore, I'm looking at you) but again, that's nothing new.

I really have a hard time with celebrities making news by voicing their political opinions also. But on the other hand, they still have the right to voice their opinions as citizens of America. I very much disagree with Sean Penn fact finding missions, Martin Sheen and Tyne Daly anti-war rallies, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon bombarding the UN, Charlie Daniels sending out open letters condoning anti-war celebrities, and songs on the radio used as a platform for politics, just to name a few.

BUT that's not where I find the true problem to be. I think the ones at fault are the media gatekeepers. Those who decide what and what not to air. Radio program directors have the choice whether or not to add songs to their playlists that condone or object war. Wolf Blitzer's producers have the choice to book Bianca Jagger and Ron Silver as guests. Cable News Station Directors have the choice to show rallies where Martin Sheen or Arnold Schwartzeneger are giving speeches. Jimmy Kimmel's producers have the right whether or not to give Jeanine Garofolo five straight nights to deliver her anti-war message.

And why do all of these people allow the celebrities to do this? To quote KTSnake "celebritites make good TV." Take stock of the news you see over the next week and weigh how much celebrity involvment is shown as opposed to "man on the street" interviews. We may not think celebrity opinion is more important than that of the everyday citizen, but someone making programming choices sure does.

I find little or no difference between a celebrity or some half-witted politician using his/her name and fame to command public and/or media attention.

As the old saying goes, "Opinions are like a$$holes, everyone has one."

The good news is, you don't have to listen to either. The bad news is, some people do.

Don't worry, I don't think many people will hold Fred Durst or Sheryl Crow's political views in any regard.

On Feb. 15th, there was a huge rally right near my BF's apartment. They had speakers up and down the avenue. We couldn't avoid hearing these speeches. Now I am all for free speech and voicing your opinions, but they were infringing on our rights (and the rights of all of his neighbors) to enjoy the comfort and quiet of our homes. Now maybe technically a quiet home isn't a right, but that rally was definitely intrusive. We were sitting in his apartment with the windows closed and couldn't avoid Susan Sarandon and Rosie Perez's speeches. When the crowds finally cleared, NYC had a five million dollar bill for police overtime and our Saturday was lost.