[Cerek the Barbaric]

Originally posted by pritchke: I know, I know another actor whose voice isn't worth anything, but he does bring up some great points on what is happening to and in the US. It so happens that I agree with him.... except for his love of baseball. Way to go for speaking out against the Bush regime.

Nobody has said his voice (or the voice of any other actors/actresses) "isn't worth anything". What we have said is that it isn't worth ANY MORE than Joe Average Citizen. One of the most interesting statements Robbins made was Our ability to disagree, and our inherent right to question our leaders and criticize their actions define who we are. I agree completely, but it seems Robbins and Sarandon are the ones who are upset about people "disagreeing" with them. He lists several examples of he and Susan being told or indirectly informed that they (and their views) aren't welcome in a particular venue. They claim this is a violation of the First Amendment rights. BZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Wrong answer, Mr. Robbins...but thank you for playing. If his First Amendment rights were truly being violated, he wouldn't have been able to give this interview. He would not be able to express his views on TV or any other public appearance he makes. There would be armed guards standing there ensuring he didn't utter these "traitorous" words. That hasn't happened. The First Amendment ONLY states that the government cannot place restrictions on an individual's right to free speech. Individual businesses and venues - however - DO NOT have to abide by the standards. It was pointed out in the Sounds of Silence thread that celebrities DO have a right to voice their opinions..but the general public is under NO obligation to listen to them.

Robbins talks about "our right to disagree" defining who we are...but he does not practice what he preaches. All of the incidents he described were recounted to him at a recent family reunion. Judging from his comments, EVERYONE at the reunion was anti-war - so where was the disagreement? The same is true for many other Hollywood celebs. They talk among themselves about these "world topics"...but they only talk to those that agree with them. When one of their own disagrees or supports a conservative POV on a given issue, they will quickly find themselves "blackballed" by the "in crowd". And I think this is one of the biggest problems these celebs face. They aren't really willing to hear a dissenting view themselves. They think they are right and everyone should agree with them. They would be well served to spend some time on Ironworks or a similar forum where they actually have to respond to opposing views and offer legitimate counter-arguments, rather than just claiming their First Amendment rights are being violated when they meet with disagreement.

{deep cleansing breath]OK.....now that I got THAT off my chest, I will agree that Robbins DID raise several good points. The unity we felt as a nation after the 9/11 attack was truly a sight to behold. To see our congressmen actually put aside their partisan labels (at least temporarily) and to stand united under the more encompassing label of "American" was awe-inspiring indeed. I also had great hope for our nation to become closer as a nation and to move away from the divisive labels we have adopted to reflect our various viewpoints. But, alas, it did not occur. [img]graemlins/verysad.gif[/img] It was only a matter of time before the infighting and name-calling returned to Capitol Hill. Both sides share an equal amount of blame as they exaggerated their claims of the potential consequences that would result from allowing their political opponents viewpoint to be followed. Although I fully support him, I also have to lay a large portion of the blame on President Bush. Diplomacy is NOT his strong point. Pritchke mentioned the change in "international attitude" towards the U.S. and states how it has moved from overwhelming support and sympathy after 9/11 to fear, anger, and distrust by many nations now. Americans (myself included) don't like to hear such claims, but facts are facts. Whether this "international attitude" is justified or not doesn't really matter. What does matter is the fact that it DOES exist (whether we admit it or not), and it IS an issue we (as a nation) should address.

I also agree that Robbins had several other good points - and some of the incidents he mentioned (if true) definitely should have never happened. I think this is the true legacy of the America - is that each of us ARE allowed to express our individual opinions and that we would ALL benefit from listening to opposing views - because none of us are 100% right all of the time.