Real World

Dear Jon Voight,

Seriously now Jon, please (Please be quiet - edited). I like you as an actor, just as I do Sean Penn, and George Clooney, but like it is for me with them, please keep your politics to yourself. While I may not like Obama's overall policy, to mention "civil war" is beyond ridiculous. You sound stupid dude. Just stick to acting. It's clear, like many in Hollywood, you don't know **** about the Real World.

Sincerely,

Real World

PS - Good like finding work in the future.


Voight: Is Obama creating a civil war in America?

Inside the Beltway column
By Jennifer Harper INSIDE THE BELTWAY (Contact)

Originally published 04:45 a.m., August 21, 2009, updated 10:13 a.m., August 21, 2009



A Hollywood conservative has headed East. It's "Freedom Concert" time for Jon Voight. The Academy Award winner will join Sean Hannity in Cincinnati and Atlanta this weekend to honor fallen soldiers and present college scholarships to surviving children. Mr. Voight -- a warrior himself in many ways -- has been cogitating about the state of America, meanwhile.

"There's a real question at stake now. Is President Obama creating a civil war in our own country?" Mr. Voight tells Inside the Beltway.

"We are witnessing a slow, steady takeover of our true freedoms. We are becoming a socialist nation, and whoever can't see this is probably hoping it isn't true. If we permit Mr. Obama to take over all our industries, if we permit him to raise our taxes to support unconstitutional causes, then we will be in default. This great America will become a paralyzed nation."


Voight: Is Obama creating a civil war in America? - Washington Times

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Real World

BTW, before the 1st amendment, censorship, uber PC police take my post the wrong way, I should let people know that people are free to say whatever they want. It is a free country. If Jon Voight, George Clooney, or Bozo the Clown (Bozo might be the smartest of the bunch) want to spew their political beliefs over a megaphone, they have every right to. The thing I'm saying is, just cuz ya can, does it mean you should? Most people want actors to act, and singers to sing, if you know what I mean.

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Wildo7

I couldn't disagree more with Jon Voight obviously, but I respect his right to express his opinion. I actually find that many actors (Voight excluded) are pretty intelligent, and not just because I happen to agree with them. Nothing annoys me more than the token liberal actor spouting off cliches because he/she thinks that's what he/she is supposed to do. But a thoughtful, intelligent actor, even though I may disagree with them at times is no different than anyone else and I actually believe that there's a certain type of empathetic intelligence that comes with being a great actor that provides them with interesting insight into politics etc. I'd be willing to bet that someone like Matt Damon, for example, is probably more intelligent and better read than the majority of posters on this forum, and I like hearing his thoughts on things. I see no inherent difference in actors expressing their opinions and the rest of us, honestly.

That said, the common argument (usually from the right since the majority of actor's opinions are to the left) for these actors to "(Please be quiet - edited) and stick to acting" is normally something along the lines of "I don't mind them expressing their opinions but they shouldn't act like their opinion carries more weight than the rest of us just because they are famous." But I see no evidence of this the majority of the time. The reality is that celebrities opinions carry weight only when people take them more seriously and media publish them accordingly, and that's a poor reflection on society as a whole, not the actors themselves.

So, yeah, Jon Voight is a giant dumbass, but his half-baked right wing rhetoric is well within his rights to express, and we'd be a better country if more people were at least engaged in the discussion.

P.S. The best actors and singers of ours and previous generations have generally been great because they have something to say through the roles they play and the songs they perform. I don't particularly want Rage Against the Machine to "(Please be quiet - edited) and stick to singing songs" or for Sean Penn to not play Harvey Milk because "he doesn't know anything beyond acting." Acting and singing are often important forms of social commentary and have been for many years which is why artists have traditionally been outspoken about society. Commercialism and corporatism are doing their best to flush that fact down the memory hole, but from Shakespeare to Chaucer to EE Cummings, poetry and theater have been important parts of the discourse IMO and I don't particularly want that to change by dumbing everything down to "singers sing and actors act." To me that's as contradictory as telling George Orwell to "(Please be quiet - edited) about politics and stick to writing."

wistahpatsfan

If I was a millionaire actor like John Voight, I have a sweet cabin in Montana and fish, have sex with my daughter and chop wood all day.

PressCoverage

Obama isn't creating civil war... Dumb Americans are.

And, quite honestly, I like George Clooney's politics... There hasn't been a thing he's pontificated about that I've disagreed with. He also gets the energy crisis, something I can't say for 95% of the sitting politicians in Washington.

Reagan was an actor. If he "(Please be quiet - edited)" and stuck with acting, you guys would have no one to dream about at night.

Patters

Actors are generally idiots when they speak up, but the Hollywood crowd in its own way generally balances out idiot entertainers, like Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck, on the right. Plus, they're easy on the eyes.

DarrylS

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Real World

Matt Damon is a moron. Furthermore, playing rolls that jive with your personal politics, isn't the point here. If you like Nambla, play a role in a kiddie didler movie. If you like the KKK, play the role of Robert Byrd, or Strom Thurmond. The role's are not the point. The point is speaking into a microphone, spewing idioticy, like someone cares what the F it is you're saying. That you might agree with the words of said actor, is also not the point. Again, they can spew all they want, as they are free too. My opinion is that the general public would prefer they don't. Oh, and I'd like to add that an actors politics doesn't affect my watching their movies. The movie itself does.


As for Reagan, he RAN FOR OFFICE! When Jon Voight, or George Clooney is running for office, I would hope that they would discuss their political views. Until then, (Please be quiet - edited).



I'm with you Wistah. Mmmmmmmmmm.....



Yeah, actors and political commontators.

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Real World

Ooops, my bad. Didn't see it. You'll excuse me if I tend to skip over certain threads. Feel free to merge!

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897

Real World

He's sooooooooooooooooooo bright.

YouTube - Matt Damon Rips Sarah Palin

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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him."
Leo Tolstoy, 1897