The Hollywood Left VS Stephen Harper
For the last couple of evenings after watching the news on Global, the TV remained on and the self-described, "most watched entertainment news program" flashed on-screen. The irritating, yet popular show recycles 3 brief gossip items 2 or 3 times throughout the show, once as introduction, a second time as preview, and then finally the gossip item itself. [If you note the structure of the show, they only have about 7 minutes worth of trivial content, and the rest of the time is spent repeating it with increasing hype].
One of the "news items" that has been played in the last few days has been soundbytes from 'stars' regarding their views on the election of Stephen Harper's Conservatives.
The first was Rosie O'Donnell who equated Harper's Tories with the Republicans in the US and decried the failure of Canadians to re-elect the Liberals.
The second was Canadian actress Sarah Polly. She said she was fleeing Harper's Canada, and hoped his minority government would not last long so that a Ken Dryden- led Liberal party could reclaim power.
What comes as no surprise in all of this is that the Hollywood Left is so completely out of touch with regular people. The Hollywood Left is very much like the Liberal party, in that they don't stand for anything, except what is cool to stand for at the moment. The Hollywood Left, as represented by Ms. O'Donnell and Ms. Polly lack even the commitment to advocate the ideological Left of the NDP.
What is more remarkable, is that movie stars who were interviewed at the Ubercool Sundance Film Festival think that they know what is better for Canada moreso than the soccer moms and hockey dads who voted for not just the Conservatives, but the NDP.
What is more ironic is that the equation of the Canadian Conservatives to the Republican Party in the US is false. It is recieved wisdom that the Conservatives are more in line with the small-c conservative elements of US Democratic Party.
But then again, movie stars offering soundbytes about politics is really less about politics, and more about the machinery of "entertainment news."
One of the "news items" that has been played in the last few days has been soundbytes from 'stars' regarding their views on the election of Stephen Harper's Conservatives.
The first was Rosie O'Donnell who equated Harper's Tories with the Republicans in the US and decried the failure of Canadians to re-elect the Liberals.
The second was Canadian actress Sarah Polly. She said she was fleeing Harper's Canada, and hoped his minority government would not last long so that a Ken Dryden- led Liberal party could reclaim power.
What comes as no surprise in all of this is that the Hollywood Left is so completely out of touch with regular people. The Hollywood Left is very much like the Liberal party, in that they don't stand for anything, except what is cool to stand for at the moment. The Hollywood Left, as represented by Ms. O'Donnell and Ms. Polly lack even the commitment to advocate the ideological Left of the NDP.
What is more remarkable, is that movie stars who were interviewed at the Ubercool Sundance Film Festival think that they know what is better for Canada moreso than the soccer moms and hockey dads who voted for not just the Conservatives, but the NDP.
What is more ironic is that the equation of the Canadian Conservatives to the Republican Party in the US is false. It is recieved wisdom that the Conservatives are more in line with the small-c conservative elements of US Democratic Party.
But then again, movie stars offering soundbytes about politics is really less about politics, and more about the machinery of "entertainment news."
| Permalink | E-mail this post 
'Ol Rosie's a real hoot. A big-time anti-gun activist. Says they should all be banned. You can imagine how pissed she was when it was revealed to the public that her own personal security guards carry... wait for it... GUNS. Yeah, her whole anti-gun campaign sort of fell apart after it was shown that she trusted her own employees with them but not the rest of us. Nice hey?
Posted by
Richard Evans |
9:40 AM
Richard,
Good point on the gun issue. Rosie exemplifies the self-righteousness of the Hollywood Left that seeks to expose the apparent self-righteousness of everybody else.
[Although I must admit that I'm not immune to this hypocrisy myself]
Posted by
ALBERTANICUS |
10:25 AM
heh Nor am I but we don't have the stroke they have and were the roles reversed, I think we'd conduct ourselves differently amigo.
Posted by
Richard Evans |
8:35 PM
Alberta seems to think it speaks for the west, well they dont we in bc kicked out conservatives as we dont want to live in thier narow minded pro-bush pro-big bussiness world. Instead we voted to live in a compassonate sociaty that practices compassion not just preaches from the pulpit of some so called (christian)? ideolagy
Posted by
bc-coaster |
12:01 AM
BC-Coaster,
You raise a few issues in your comment.
First, you note that Alberta does not speak for the West unilaterally. This is true. Although, you would also agree that there are people who share your perspective who live in Alberta, just as there are those in BC whose views are more akin to the majority of Albertans.
Second, you make the observation that the Conservatives were kicked out in the last election. This observation is also true in a general sense. The CPC had a poorer showing in BC than it has in the past.
Third, you note the reason for the Conservative expulsion from BC. You claim that the Conservatives represent "a pro-Bush, pro-big business world". Can I conclude then that you would advocate a pro-Democrat, pro-big Labour world instead? I'm unclear on your advocacy. Sadly such sweeping denunciations tend to offer little in the way of constructive critique. The irony is that if one is unhappy with the imperialism of Bush's America, the imperialism will remain with a Democrat White House, it may merely work harder to avoid appearing like imperialism.
Finally, I empathize with your desire for a compassionate society. I'm guessing we may have differing points of priority, and ways of implementation in order to bring about compassionate ends. In the political realm, I have a great deal of respect for people of a different political ideology who nonetheless desire to help people in legitimate ways. On a different, and far more important level, I speak (and hopefully act) from a Christian perspective where the mandate that my faith proscribes is a compassionate activism on behalf of the marginalized and weak. The best "agency" for this compassionate mission is the local church in any given area. This is a less glamourous vehicle than government legislation, but can be highly effective as any truly grassroots initiative is.
By the way, I should add that I don't believe any political party or movement anywhere can be called Christian in the true sense of the name---not even Constantine's official "Christianization of the Roman Empire". Other Christians may disagree with me, but their own Scripture texts would be against them on this matter.
Thanks for the comment.
Posted by
ALBERTANICUS |
6:51 AM
Richard,
Yup. In some ways I think I get a taste of that 'role-reversal' by virtue of the blogosphere. We can suddenly be 'pundits.' For most bloggers it is certainly a reversal of fortunes!
Thanks for the comments Richard, and the offer a while back for me to guest blog at Cannuckistan. I appreciated it.
Posted by
ALBERTANICUS |
7:00 AM
Unfortunately we also have Neil Young's comments from Sundance that leave many western farmers in the lurch as well. I wonder how many attendees at one of his Farm Aid concerts would hold the same views on Harper as Young does?
I hope Neil Young will remember that an Alberta man don't need him around any how.
Posted by
The Ruminator |
11:03 AM
Student Credit Cards uwaz.am tym (to) dostosowanie [url=http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/credit-cards/]cc[/url] *prussiate* na kto'rym witac' *Douglases* i Parazwroty Indii, w uczczeniu pamie;ci *exalted* zadanie student cards potem uroczys'cie *sequestrated*. urzeczenie *beplastering* *fern-shaded* *squealed* *soustenez* w obre;bie tamtych *press-agented* s'ciany, jednak, chory *wassails* te (te) *sac-de* odbicia, albo mys'li o *crevasse-like* finanse (finansowac'; finansowy) kredyt (udzielac' kredytu; kredytowy), i wyrabiam z.adnego *incense-party* o *swaging* do bramy.
Posted by
Student Credit Cards |
9:17 AM
casino Probaly you should read this. casino Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy casino now
Posted by
casino |
11:07 AM
casino Probaly you should read this. casino Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy casino now
Posted by
casino |
11:07 AM
polyphonic ringtones Keyword doesn't matter
Posted by
polyphonic ringtones |
9:34 AM
polyphonic ringtones Keyword doesn't matter
Posted by
polyphonic ringtones |
9:34 AM
baseball Probaly you should read this. baseball Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy baseball now
Posted by
baseball |
7:53 AM
gambling addiction Probaly you should read this. gambling addiction Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy gambling addiction now
Posted by
gambling addiction |
2:13 AM
gambling addiction Probaly you should read this. gambling addiction Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy gambling addiction now
Posted by
gambling addiction |
2:14 AM
gambling addiction Probaly you should read this. gambling addiction Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy gambling addiction now
Posted by
gambling addiction |
2:22 AM
sports Probaly you should read this. sports Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy sports now
Posted by
sports |
9:10 AM
debt consolidation loan Probaly you should read this. debt consolidation loan Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy debt consolidation loan now
Posted by
debt consolidation loan |
11:10 AM
countrywide home loans Probaly you should read this. countrywide home loans Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy countrywide home loans now
Posted by
countrywide home loans |
3:52 PM
car loans Probaly you should read this. car loans Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy car loans now
Posted by
car loans |
4:29 PM
student loan Probaly you should read this. student loan Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy student loan now
Posted by
student loan |
11:14 PM
student loan Probaly you should read this. student loan Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy student loan now
Posted by
student loan |
11:18 PM
online casinos Probaly you should read this. online casinos Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy online casinos now! God bless you.
Posted by
online casinos |
4:09 PM
forex trading system Probaly you should read this. forex trading system Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy forex trading system now! God bless you.
Posted by
forex trading system |
5:47 PM
free texas holdem Probaly you should read this. free texas holdem Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy free texas holdem now! God bless you.
Posted by
free texas holdem |
9:22 PM
pet stairs Probaly you should read this. pet stairs Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy pet stairs now! God bless you.
Posted by
pet stairs |
1:51 PM
chase home finance Probaly you should read this. chase home finance Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy chase home finance now! God bless you.
Posted by
chase home finance |
5:23 PM
casino poker chips Probaly you should read this. lkj7.us Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy lkj7.us now! God bless you.
Posted by
casino poker chips |
1:08 AM
golf shoes Probaly you should read this. golf shoes Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy golf shoes now! God bless you.
Posted by
golf shoes |
3:31 PM
casino games Probaly you should read this. casino games Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy casino games now! God bless you.
Posted by
casino games |
8:16 PM
texas holdem Probaly you should read this. texas holdem Hope this helps. See you next life. Buy texas holdem now! God bless you.
Posted by
texas holdem |
5:42 AM