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Originally Posted by Push-Pull
Wow, this thread grew while I was gone today! If I may...
I have no more right than anyone else, I very much agree. But then, this is as tall as my soapbox will ever be, seeing how I will most likely never be in the position to use the media to my advantage.  |
So what you're telling us is that you're so altruistic that if for whatever reason you DID become famous you would make absolutely sure not to express an opinion about ANYTHING any time a camera was rolling?
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it's about just doing what you're good at and let the fans enjoy your talent.
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But the other problem is that Americans are positively in love with pigeonholing people into one profession. A lawyer can't possibly tell you how to fix your car - he's only a lawyer. And the guy who fixes your car can't possibly be good at acting - he's just a grease monkey. And of course the actor can't possibly be capable of rational political thought. . .right?
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My gripe was that these people are willing to cash in on their popularity just to press their views upon us.
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And you do the same thing. You express your opinions to your circle of friends. You're cashing in on their friendship in the hopes that they will tolerate you spouting off about your beliefs.
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That just doesn't seem intelligent to me, it's akin to ignorantly voicing opinions on topics that most likely will tick someone off in front of your entire office staff over the PA system.
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Every thought, no matter what it is, is going to piss someone off. That's all there is to it. But if you have a thought, and you feel it's an important thought that everyone should consider, and you have the choice between telling a couple hundred people on a message board or 300 million people on television, doncha think it'd be pretty stupid not to take that chance if it was available to you?
I'm not trying to tell you to shut up - I think you have the right to your opinion and you have the right to broadcast it to as wide an audience as you can reach. But you're not unique - I think everyone should have that right.
Sure it's not "fair" that celebs have so much more access to the airwaves than we do, but then life isn't fair is it? It's not fair that they drive Bentleys while you drive whatever it is you drive that costs 300 times less than their car. Should we begrudge them for taking advantage of the opportunities that are available to them?
I always kinda chuckle inside when I see someone still claim that America is the land of opportunity, because to listen to the masses talk, it sure as hell isn't. Oh sure, it's great to have opportunities, but as soon as we see someone who has greater opportunities than we have, we get annoyed and rather than trying to make greater opportunities for ourselves, we simply begrudge the people who already have them.
I think it's important when we get a kneejerk idea in our head (celebrities should shut up, the news media is full of nothing but assholes, the moon landing didn't really happen, etc etc) we should stop and think about what it really means and what is motivating our thought process. Often times we'll find that we're really angry at something else entirely and are transferring blame for it onto something innocent.