How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today's World? (Ben Stein)

OperationHomeFront.net ^ | July 23, 2004 | Ben Stein

[stainlessbanner]

my column for E! Online must pass

Maybe Stein will continue writing for an outlet other than E-Online.

[Stag]

Wasn't he a speechwriter for Nixon at some point?

[Issaquahking]

Then you don't know the right kind of money people. I know one person who, if you didn't know he was rich, sure doesn't act like some hot shot. But he also has stopped Greenpeace from docking in various ports. When he sees a small piece of trash on the street when he is walking, he picks it up.

Some people forget how to act after they earn a fistful, others know how to act because of who they are. Money won't make you successful, but it does help. The person I'm speaking of runs an extremely successful company in natural resource handling.

[Buttaboom]

I love Ben Stein. My son wrote to him when he was about six or seven (he loved to watch Ben's game show) and Ben sent a really sweet letter and an autographed picture. It's still up on my son's wall, right next to his Brett Favre and Reggie White autographs.

[Stag]

Yes, I do. Kerry was quoted in the book tour of duty refering to the pilot of the Cobra gunships in Viet Nam as a bunch of "trigger happy yahoos".

[Tribune7]

bump

[Stag]

I believe the apeaker said it was on page 211 of Tour of Duty...which I will hereafter refer to as ...

Tour of Doody...because it is full of bullsh!t

[LisaMalia]

Ben, there is one star in the entertainment industry, and it's you.

[raybbr]

but... is it just me or is his writing style flawed?

Can you be a little more specific?

[thirteen stars]

paris hilton is pathetic white trash who happens to have rich parents.

Nice article by stein. I always liked him best in the mask.

[Fenris6]

"Can you be a little more specific?"

Yes, but if its not obvious to anyone, then it must be me :)

Just seems abrupt and akward. Doesn't flow.

[Vision]

is it just me or is his writing style flawed?

It doesn't flow

[texasbluebell]

I remember a photo of Nixon's last day in office, during his resignation speech. In his audience in the White House was the young Ben Stein tears running down his face, while listening to the resignation speech.

link to article about Ben Stein

"Young adults who grew up watching The Wonder Years and Ferris Bueller's Day Off don't know that Ben Stein was at one time a Nixon speechwriter. They see his face and one word repeats in their mind: "Bueller... Bueller..."

"But Stein is more than just an actor who made this line famous as he played a nerdy, monotone economics teacher in both shows. In fact, he is a brilliant economist and university professor in his own right." (More at link)

~~~~~~~~~

Ben is the son of the late great economist Herb Stein.

Here's an article

Remembering Herb

[Judith Anne]

Thank you very much.

[texasbluebell]

Sure!

(I love Ben Stein.)

[discipler]

I really liked the article and forwarded it to my friends. I only read it once but the link between being a star and hero wasn't really made: maybe if he had said the real "stars" are... and then list the heroes he mentioned.

[raybbr]

maybe if he had said the real "stars" are... and then list the heroes he mentioned.

Maybe you missed this part?

A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.

A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him.

A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.

[I'm ALL Right!]

BUMP! This one deserves to be read.

[DMVoudouris]

Response to Ben Stein's Reality Check on OUR REAL SuperStar's.... I would, undoubtedly like to respond to this article. As busy as my daily schedule has become, I will take time to acknowledge this important issue & to state I agree wholeheartedly that we as a “people” have indeed turned our sights toward the wrong idles & superstars. Most of these persons are selfish, sef-indulgents, closed minded, and under such living conditions in self-taught thoughts, become reality to themselves and those that ultimately place such high regards & beliefs toward, the ones most consider to be super-stars & idles to admire can be viewed as the center piece leaning our society to ruins. The super-stars of our society are movie actors & actress's, sports players, and sometimes even criminals are idolized ( & protected )by our society.
It appears that our “society” has long ago begun to loss sight of “Wisdom”, the ability to make good judgment. Those that truly deserve the most from all that live under the Freedom of our country, Teachers, Men & Woman in our Armed Forces, Police Officers, Social Workers for Child Advocates are barely recognized and compensated the least of a decent wage to reflect any appreciations for the very society they serve faithfully. Mark 6:1, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is he without honor” Meaning those in this country we should honor & hold high respect we ignore & refuse to acknowledge with any honor or reflection for which is deserved by which they contribute to this society & country!
How many times have we heard “ Blood is thicker than water”, meaning I will defend you based on who you are, not for right or wrong. The moral thinking & (family) teachings within the boundaries of this county has long ago become the core at which is the end of decency for which our founding Fathers stood strong & proud! The basic core teaching only 20-40 years past has long since been viewed as worthless. Yet our young stand for a failing foundation. Where is Faith, Trust, Respect, Honor, Compassion. The reasons for building, fighting for and believing in a free country. A country where one can chose the life style & moral standard freely without restrictions, where sometimes the consequences of our choices aren't even viewed as needing attention....however, our teachers suffer abuse, disrespect & sometimes harm, our police officers protect our communities, rise to the dangerous call, sometimes losing their life only for his family to fight for every ounce of help from the very society he honored by his protection.
Our society is confussed & fickled, to state the least. We stand for the wrong, fight against the right, have too many chiefs, don't honor those in the position of leadership yet complain about his performance. We have destroyed our own language, no longer teaching pride to our young to pronounce & speak with honor. The days of idle hands has been among us for a very long time & the results have lead our young to misleading talents. Most persons have no idea why they believe what they think they hold true, with no basis of facts reality comes truths which leads to a confused & fickled society.
There should be not tolerance for drugs, abuse, misbehavior or the lights with our sports players, especially since it's the people creating the extreme pay checks. Our society must regain their rights to our Government, stop allowing this Government to rule our country, we are to run this agency not the other way around! Remove the extreme pay checks & pedestal from those least deserving & reward those that honorably protect, teach & serve everyone of us in this country.
I agree with Mr. Stein that we may have all at some time placed high regards to those that entertain us & will continue to entertain us. However, it's going to be a very sad day when we will answer to our reality check one day & realize to late we have placed beliefs in the wrong arena. When perspectives becomes reality to us we tend to lose sight of the truth.
I believe in most cases a personal situation causes most to realize the importance of life in the way God wants us to see & believe in it. I further believe that by choosing not to believe in God, one may need to do their own research instead of believing simply from personal option without facts to back that option.
This country was founded on the faith & trust in God by our founding Fathers, history research clearly proves this. Why have we taught our society this belief in not important in ones life?
Faith, Respect, Honor, Compassion are all the mixture for a healthy, moral foundation at which to live. All we do, all we believe in, all each of are ( character) are based on our personal beliefs.
IF our top respect level is for a sports player or actress yet we don't believe in God, how can we truly Honor those at which deserve this Honor the most.
The most disturbing fact is that most persons making the extreme pay-check forget what true reality is & rarely if ever give to the needy or unfortunate. And when they do, they always make public notice of it for personal reward or acknowledgments. An unworthy act if one does a good deed from the heart.

I believe in & give prayer & thanks to the underdog, the less fortunate, the men & woman of the armed forces fighting for whats right for “peoples” lives, the police officer that serves his people every day in every call, the working mother with children to be feed, the farmer that plants dawn to dust, the child protection agency that is overloaded with cases & extremely under paid,
and pray for the lonely thats lost, the sad & hurting, the confused & depressed, the volunteer, the elderly spending each day without a hug or kind word and the mistreated/abused child.

I learned a long time ago not to take things for granted. A day changes everything!
Give Thanks to those that truly deserve the appreciation & respect and better treatment. And Always Stand or what is Right, Honest & Compassionate!

Diane Voudouris