How Obama Won — and May Win

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by laylo

Should farmers stick to farming, construction workers stick to construction, and au pairs stick to watching kids? What about being an actor speaks to you as unqualified for political discourse?

If you'll read my follow-up post, I said that it simply annoys me when they (and notice I said celebrities, not just actors) do it. No matter the political affiliation, I've found that, many times, their statements tend to be misinformed, and yet they're trying to act as a voice of the people.

Because of their public persona, when they make those statements, they tend to get plastered everywhere. At a certain point, I get sick of reading them, and it annoys me, whether it's Tom Selleck talking up family values, or John Cusack doing ads for MoveOn.

It's nothing more, nothing less. I have nothing against people having opinions, and I have nothing against actors. People have the right to speak up and speak out, to share their views on the government and how things are run. Everyone gets annoyed at certain things, and I'm simply saying that my annoyance happens to be celebrities playing politics.

It also seems like you're trying to play the "elitist" card with me - if you are, that's fine, but considering my parents are a construction worker and former middle school teacher, the label doesn't fit.

ETA: I was going to mention Curt Schilling as being annoying too, but then people would just say that's because I'm a Yankees fan...

[laylo]

Originally Posted by KSigkid

If you'll read my follow-up post, I said that it simply annoys me when they (and notice I said celebrities, not just actors) do it. No matter the political affiliation, I've found that, many times, their statements tend to be misinformed, and yet they're trying to act as a voice of the people.

Because of their public persona, when they make those statements, they tend to get plastered everywhere. At a certain point, I get sick of reading them, and it annoys me, whether it's Tom Selleck talking up family values, or John Cusack doing ads for MoveOn.

It's nothing more, nothing less. I have nothing against people having opinions, and I have nothing against actors. People have the right to speak up and speak out, to share their views on the government and how things are run. Everyone gets annoyed at certain things, and I'm simply saying that my annoyance happens to be celebrities playing politics.

It also seems like you're trying to play the "elitist" card with me - if you are, that's fine, but considering my parents are a construction worker and former middle school teacher, the label doesn't fit.

ETA: I was going to mention Curt Schilling as being annoying too, but then people would just say that's because I'm a Yankees fan...

I wasn't trying to play any card, and I read all of your posts. I was trying to find out the reason why it annoys you. In one of your posts you seemed to be saying that actors who were highly educated didn't "count", so it seemed that some basis for your annoyance was their presumed lack of formal education. If it is not, then those statements are confusing. If your annoyance is only that celebrities' statements are everywhere, it might be better directed at celebrity-obsessed culture than at celebrities for saying something.

[KSigkid]

Originally Posted by laylo

I wasn't trying to play any card, and I read all of your posts. I was trying to find out the reason why it annoys you. In one of your posts you seemed to be saying that actors who were highly educated didn't "count", so it seemed that some basis for your annoyance was their presumed lack of formal education. If it is not, then those statements are confusing. If your annoyance is only that celebrities' statements are everywhere, it might be better directed at celebrity-obsessed culture than at celebrities for saying something.

I don't want to totally hijack the thread, although I may have already done so, so I'll just say this: TexasWSP pretty much summed up my feelings.

In my previous post, I had differentiated Fred Thompson because he had a career in law and politics before he became a professional actor; I tend to think of him as a lawyer/politician who acts, rather than an actor dabbling in politics. I did mention about Grandy's education, but in the next sentence, I noted that if I were a voter when he were running, I would have had most likely had the same issue.

I'm sure there are other similar exceptions such as Thompson, but I just can't think of them right now.