Posted on 02/25/2003 3:13:12 PM PST by political_chick
Wouldn't it be nice if people not only engaged their brains prior to speaking, but knew what they were talking about when they actually spoke?
Hollywood types, ice cream moguls, and "activists" from all over the world are against the removal by force of a ruthless dictator. They say it's because war is bad. How many neurons do you think it took to come up with that bit of wisdom?
There is also the brilliant, though some might say a bit naïve, concept that if we don't have enemies, we, well, won't have enemies. Another gem from the folks that we have all grown to love and admire.
J.R., (Larry Hagman) from the TV show Dallas, has, after apparently absolutely no thought whatsoever, determined that his character on his TV series was able to take over Texas by not using violence, so why can't President Bush do the same with Iraq? Speaking from Germany, Larry said, "J.R. was so smart he always found a way to win without violence ... he ruined his enemies financially or socially."
Honestly, these are the people we watch on TV and sometimes pay money to see on the big screen.
Larry Hagman says President Bush is a "sad figure: not too well educated, who doesn't get out of America much. He's leading the country towards fascism." For Larry, George Bush graduating from Yale and receiving an MBA from Harvard is "not well educated."
It was all Larry could do in his series "I Dream of Genie," to keep an all-powerful Genie from actually doing something to improve the lot of anyone or any people on earth. Seems if you don't think, that makes sense.
Not being bright seems to be a prerequisite for making it in Hollywood. Maybe that is a necessary requirement to pretend you are an astronaut and keep your "Genie" not only hidden, but also unnecessary.
The problem of course is not confined to Hollywood types or ice cream baron's, the problem is far more ominous.
Whether you believe in Creationism or Darwinism, viewing a huge segment of society that doesn't know enough or care enough to take action to save not only a people far from themselves, but to save their own skins is a bit disconcerting.
For the Darwinist's it has to be an aberration. Whole groups of people that if not for the kindness of strangers, would surely not be able to populate the planet with others of their ilk.
For Creationists, it has to also be an aberration. After all, those folks should not be "helped," because they are unwilling to help themselves.
How then can it be explained that the same people who profess a revulsion for the vagaries of war close their eyes to the plight of the Iraqi people? How can people who proclaim they are "true patriots" and are exercising their right to freedom of speech not see the threat to freedom posed by dictators like Saddam?
More to the point, how can people who seem to have a desperate need to exercise their freedom of speech, use that right to protect someone who kills, tortures and imprisons people to deny them that right? Why can't these people see their own rights under the Constitution jeopardized by Saddam Hussein's existence?
Actually, the answer is simple; they are just not very bright. They are lucky, but just not too sharp.
Socrates, about 3000 years ago said, "Well I am certainly wiser than this man. It is only too likely that neither of us has any knowledge to boast of; but he thinks that he knows something which he does not know, whereas I am quite conscious of my ignorance. At any rate it seems that I am wiser than he is to this small extent, that I do not think that I know what I do not know."
Of course, there is the problem of accountability. American celebrities can always fall back on the canard of innocence and idealism. Sadly, many will buy into that nonsense and give the benefit of the doubt to these individuals who at the same time denounce their own nation, seek to prevent the liberation and freedom from being bestowed on an oppressed people, and demand that a ruthless tyrant remain in power to menace the world.
As John Henry Newman said, "We can believe what we choose. We are answerable for what we choose to believe." It is up to all of us to remember who and what was said in these perilous days. As Americans, we must never stifle the voices of dissent, but it is incumbent on us all to look beyond the right to say something and remember what was said and by whom.
In regards to the Hollywood types and other American elite, it is appropriate to remember the words of the Earl of Chesterfield who, a couple of hundred years ago said, "These poor mistaken people think they shine, and they do indeed, but it is as putrefaction shines; in the dark."
Paul can be contacted at paul.walfield@cox.net
We need to recover the word "activist" from the left that has stolen it. This is one way to contribute to that result.
Congressman Billybob
Latest column, "Buncombe Rides Again, and Again," now up on both UPI and FR.
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