The American Spectator

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I’d like to point out a facet of the issue of anti-war celebrities that I haven’t seen discussed:

There isn’t any reason to think that celebrities as a group know any more or less than any other group of people about public issues. Celebrities, however, have a microphone and an audience which magnify any opinions the celebrities express, even if the microphone and audience aren’t there because of any expectation that they have anything meaningful to say about those issues. I think this is why people with whom the celebrities disagree react so severely to those opinions. The problem is made worse when the celebrity then claims that his right to have an opinion is being limited, that there is a “climate of fear,” etc. The fact is, these people enjoy a much greater right to express their opinions than most of the rest of us do.They should grow up and accept the fact that not everyone agrees with them and that some people will point that out.

In addition, celebrities are in a position to exploit public issues to get attention. This is where one can single out the Dixie Chicks for particular criticism. The Dixie Chicks made an anti-war, anti-Bush statement in front of a European audience where it was certain to play well. When their U.S. fans started complaining and boycotting their CDs, the Dixie Chicks apologized and started shedding tears. Now, the Dixie Chicks are a country music act; it should not have taken a lot of insight to realize that many of their fans are likely to disagree with an anti-war stance. They should have thought about that fact before they decided to speak out in public, not after. They succeeded only in making themselves look greedy. The fact that their next attempt to further the discussion was to undress for a magazine cover only confirms that this is mostly about attention and publicity for them, not any real concern about the war.

p>I submit that some issues are too important to be manipulated in this way, just to get publicity and attention. Although the Dixie Chicks certainly don’t deserve to receive death threats, as they apparently have, they certainly do deserve a lot of criticism, and your Enemy of the Week award. br> — Charles Eldredge /p>