Bothered

Is anyone else bothered that certain movie and TV celebrities seem to carry just as much weight with political and international issues as the “experts” do? This bothers me. Why do we put value on what these people think? Aren’t they successful in the first place because their industry is designed to entertain us and provide a temporary escape from real-world issues? What qualifies these people to have their opinon valued or respected so much?

Some actually do have designated responsibilities by the U.N. (George Clooney, Angelina Jolie) which I respect, but even that status shouldn’t elevate these people to being considered experts on anything other than the abilities which made them successful in the first place; whether acting or singing or writing or whatever.  Granted, they have a platform to express their views and make themselves heard – so I guess I’m not so much bothered by the celebrities themselves as I am the people who are influenced by these celebrity-opinions.

How ’bout this – do some research on your own – don’t let a video of Danny Glover hanging out with Hugo Chavez make your decisions for you. Draw your own conclusions and opinions based on your beliefs, then you can talk about it with others who have done the same.

Enough soap-box for now…