I Regret That You Are Drunk Rednecks
link Val Kilmer Fights Over Words in Bid to Convert New Mexico Ranch to B&B – WSJ.com.
This is the flip side of the free speech privilege. Certainly you can say what you want in America for the most part, but people should know that there are consequences to what you say. Hollywood celebrities are accustomed to having their pronouncements accepted as gospel by their adoring fans, agents and acolytes, but the fact is, much of what they say is plainly stupid, offensive or both and as in this case, people not in the fan circle may not be amused. If you call your neighbours red neck drunks, don’t expect kisses blown at you if you meet them at the bar. Whereas a witty wisecrack will get you a mention in TMZ, in real life, it could get you a purple nerple.
Free speech means that opinions are offered for public consumption whether or not they have any basis of fact or redeeming value. This blog is an example. Hopefully the general public will over time be able to discern the nuggets of genuine thought from the verbal inanity that constitutes most of what passes as wisdom offered by ‘celebrities’. By coincidence, I happened to be browsing through a local bookstore recently and was amused to see weighty tomes of deep thought offered by the likes of Russell Brand, Steven Colbert and Jesse Ventura. This should be an inspiration to all that in a free, capitalist society, even the likes of these people can convince a publisher to package their world views for public consumption. As if the world is remotely interested. We’re all awaiting the lucky publisher of Pee Wee Herman’s views on regressive taxation as well.
Can anyone imagine such pearls of wisdom being acceptable in places like Iran or China? Anyone who argues that the western model of society is broken and that we should aim to emulate the socialist regimes of Cuba or Venezuela should attempt to have their lofty opinions published in those countries. It’s altogether different to have your thoughts exposed to an informed audience than it is to pander to a naive or uniformed fan base. What most of these vocal celebs fail to grasp is that amusing people is not the same as enlightening people. To paraphrase the inscription on the rear view mirrors of cars, “your opinions may matter less than you think”.
So, getting back to our hero Val, some intemperate comments made about his neighbors in the past have come back to bite him. All they’re asking for is an apology. Frankly, I’d be surprised if anyone on the committee has lost a minute of sleep over Kilmer’s past comments. I think they’re just tired of ‘celebrites’ dissing the little folk without thought to consequences. Come on Val, you’re an actor, act like you’re sorry. That way you can believe that anyone really cares what you think.