Liberals & Hollywood

Much to write on this topic, but there's limited space here (not to mention attention spans).

It's generally taken for granted that Hollywood is full of bleeding-heart liberals. Alec Baldwin, Barbra Streisand, Janeane Garofalo, and on and on. Republicans in Hollywood include Tom Selleck, Bruce Willis, and Charlton Heston, but you rarely hear about them. That's because it's the liberals who get blamed by conservatives for the breakdown of society. They won't yell at John McClane or Thomas Magnum because they're the good guys, but get mad when other celebrities speak their minds about politics.

Why do they care? Why do we? They have a platform from which they can command attention, and if they wish to focus attention on politics, then so be it. You and I do not have to listen to them. Linda Ronstadt criticized Bush in Las Vegas and got in trouble for it. That was during a show, so her critics may have a point there. We all know what happened to the Dixie Chicks when they dared speak their minds. We also see people like Alec Baldwin and Barbra Streisand getting roasted for speaking their minds. Barbra Streisand is a talented woman who happens to be a liberal celebrity. Her years of supporting liberal causes have earned her the wrath of conservatives who depict her as the face of a Hollywood that corrupts our moral values (there they are again), a Hollywood that promotes drug use and encourages abortion, or something like that, I guess.

What if Ms. Streisand turns the tables in the next election and supports the Republican candidate (but still votes Democrat)? Then they would have no reason to yell at her. It would confuse them and possibly get the votes of some red-staters who also blame Hollywood and the "liberal elite" for trying to ruin their lives. Yentl would then join Moses, Magnum, and John McClane in the "OK" list.