Normally the Gamoo does not comment on celebrities or bother to quote them because celebrity culture is kind of like the Pied Piper of Hamlin: it melodically sweeps up not only the hungry rats but also the the minds and hearts of the children and impressionable adults and they disappear into mediocre reasoning rarely to return.
But, megastar Glen Campbell who has sold more than 25 million records during his career was on NPR's Fresh Air yesterday and said something which was so absurd that it deserves a second look:
"I don’t think I’m in the music business to, you know, try and save the world. Or to focus my opinion….That’s why they (the Smothers Brothers) got thew off CBS. They stepped over the line a little bit, I believe. That shouldn’t even be a factor as far as music goes. There’s a war going on. Well, you know, your life’s got to go on. There’s a lot of people try and get their influence to stop this and stop that. They’re not going to stop anything."
Campbell was referring to the Smothers Brothers and others like them who used their talents and sometimes their celebrity to voice their political opinion in hopes of changing the status quo and stopping the war in Vietnam in order to save human lives and prevent further suffering and devastation to humans, animals and the environment.
It just goes to show that just because one slips on a cowboy shirt it doesn't make one a patriot.
A patriot isn't someone who just says "Why bother?" But, someone who fights to improve their country based on a solid understanding of ethics. To put it in terms that a man like Mr. Campbell and his ilk might understand, here's Gene Autry's Cowboy Code:
1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. He must always tell the truth.
4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. He must help people in distress.
7. He must be a good worker.
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation's laws.
10. The Cowboy is a patriot.
If celebrities can do anything for the rest of us and actually earn some of the enormous sums they are paid, they can speak up to increase compassion and alleviate suffering on our planet. They can educate themselves on the value of civil liberties. They won't just love it or leave it. They won't move to another country in hopes of escaping reality here back home or the harm that our government has caused. They will be patriotic; they will speak up and do more than pose in haute couture on red carpets. Or cowboy shirts on album covers.
That's what I've been asking myself so many times this Fall.
There are many things I do not understand. Here are just two: What's this? Number 1: was the speech by the ever-elegant Ice Queen, Cindy McCain at the Republican National Convention in which she stated to a nearly all-white audience:
"This convention celebrates a special and exceptional Republican Party and the hand we feel on our shoulder is Abraham Lincoln's. Our country was born amidst the struggle for freedom and our party arose from a grand battle for human rights, dignity and equity for all people. We give way to no one and no other party in that cause."
Note to Cindy: There is a reason the RNC was nearly an all-white affair: It's because black people don't trust you, your husband or your party. And using your friend Ernestine, a survivor of the atrocities in Rwanda who was in the audience to further your myth of the Republican crusade on behalf of the downtrodden and mistreated: "...She was made to watch appalling horrors..." ( The RNC audience actually clapped right after she said this like it was a good thing to be made to watch appalling horrors) was a new low for a politician's wife.
What's this? Number 2: This linen-wrapped little creature with the buggly eyes looks to me like it might bite. At the same time it allowed itself to be snuggled up in fabric and have its photo taken. Anyone who can explain either of these mysteries wins a one-year free subscription to the Gamoo.
(Actually, anyone can already have a free subscription.)
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