Saturday, January 14, 2017

Star Wars -- Celebrity Reality Edition

Meryl Streep had the stage at the Golden Globes and chose to use it to criticize PEOTUS DJ Trump, causing outrage in the Trumpet Section. You know what? I don’t care. I don’t care that she spoke out (she has that right under the First Amendment) and I don’t care that people are angry with her and speaking out against her (they have that right under the First Amendment). None of that will have any influence on whether or not I go to see a film. I can’t actually remember what the last film I saw from this fine actress. (Her expression of opinion makes her outspoken, but neither over- nor underrated.)
During Ms. Streep’s speech it appears that Mel Gibson sat there stone-faced (kind of like when he's acting). You know what? I don’t care. His opinion of the president-elect and his critics and supporters make zero difference to me. Should he ever make another movie I want to see, I’ll possibly overlook his drunken anti-Semitic rants and go see it (although that’s a higher bar because it was a behavior, not an expression of an opinion).
Any number of celebrities have declined the opportunity to perform at Mr. Trump’s inauguration. You know what? I don’t care. Their opinion of the PEOTUS has no impact on me. They didn’t influence my vote in November and they won’t influence how I evaluate the man's actions as President of the United States. And if they influence yours, one way or the other, you might want to start thinking for yourself. 
Country singer Toby Keith is going to perform at the inauguration. You know what? Of course you do, by now. I don't care. The decision is his to make and will have no influence on whether or not I choose to attend a concert, buy a song or album, or eat mediocre and overpriced food served by scantily clad waitresses (#familyvalues!) in his Las Vegas restaurant.
Some celebrities (on both sides) are intelligent people, and we should always try to listen to intelligent people before making up our own minds. But, all things being equal (and I concede that they are not always, and that some celebrities actually do have experience in the areas where they opine) their opinion, no matter how big their audience, has no more value than yours or mine. The size of an audience carries no more weight as to the value of an opinion than the decibels of the shouter. In other words, to paraphrase another celebrity, “They don’t impress me much.”
Steve Harvey is apparently going to consult with Dr. Ben Carson in his role as head of HUD, which has some people upset with him and others rushing to his defense (usually depending on whether they are celebrating or bemoaning the election results). I don’t care. Steve Harvey seems to be a bright guy and certainly can be no more ignorant about the secretary job than Dr. Carson (also a bright, if bizarre, guy, but misplaced in this position it seems to me). If he wants to listen to Mr. Harvey, it’s his time and it can’t hurt. 

If which celebrity is saying or doing what gets you wound up, well, that, too, is your time and your energy to spend. Me, (all together now), I DON’T CARE!

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