John Wayne ... Clint Eastwood ... Bruce Willis ... Arnold Schwarzenegger ... We're pretty sure that we know a few prominent Hollywood actors and actresses who are politically conservative, right? A few, perhaps, whose careers have been sufficiently noteworthy, or became noteworthy before their political bent was public so they could not be shunned because of it. But not many.
There are literally hundreds of performers in movies and TV whose names we would readily identify for their profession. Yet we speak of Hollywood, when it is in a political context, as a bastion of left-wing politics, the home of an array of limousine liberals with a practically monolithic leftward attitude.
I certainly don't challenge that. In my years of performing on stage and in music in organized associations and societies, I would call myself a closeted conservative. While I'm sure those around me knew my leanings (if they even cared) because I never took an open liberal stand on anything, I didn't proselytize for the right. I was there to entertain audiences, not to espouse beliefs unrelated to my reason for being there.
While my performing peers could have guessed my rightward tilt, I could guess theirs, and it was generally to the left. OK, fine -- I get that. Political bent is acquired through environment and upbringing more than anything else, and there is probably something in that that correlates leftwardness with whatever makes people want to entertain if God gives them the talent to do so.
But ... can it be so strong that it dominates an entire industry to the extend that we view Hollywood actors and actresses? Is the community so incredibly close to political unanimity just on the happenstance of correlation to the performing talents there?
Of course not.
It is OK to be a prominent liberal in Hollywood; it is poisonous to be even unprominently thought to be a conservative. So if being outed as conservative is career-destroying, then what is a person to do whose talents have driven him or her to the stage or screen, and whose diligent work developing those talents has pushed them to regard the conservative (formerly called "Protestant") work ethic as worth being embraced and celebrating? What is a person to do who has worked hard for their success and resents those who have intentionally eschewed the same level of hard work but want the same benefits and scream "income inequality" as a rationale for taking from you?
What the person is to do, at least in Hollywood, is "shut up." You avoid political discussions, you pay as little homage to leftist causes as possible -- even act agnostic about it -- "Ahhhh, I'm an actor (or singer, musician, songwrriter ...), I try not to get involved with that stuff."
You know that there are far more conservatives out there in La-La-Land than we know about, because there are a lot of people out there who sacrificed for their craft. They can't possibly believe they have not earned the right to success, and who challenge the argument that the untalented, the uninspired and the unintelligent are entitled to take from them at will.
Where are they?
Beats me, but I know it ain't just Clint Eastwood and Bruce Willis. And I sure wish that people like, say, Jon Cryer, Patricia Heaton, and Kelsey Grammer from TV, and Tom Selleck from film (hard to find film names, eh?), whose success should insulate them against being blacklisted, would take an active role in the upcoming campaign.
Because the numbers can't be what we infer from the stories about Hollywood leftism. There have to be dozens and dozens of very prominent performers in film and TV who actually are conservative in their politics. The more that idiots like Michael Moore make idiotic comments and tweets, and the more that people like Ben Affleck say stupid things that trap them between two leftist constituencies, the more it should be OK to stand up and be conservative in Hollywood -- and not be ostracized.
I triple-dog dare you.
Copyright 2015 by Robert Sutton
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The left has been practicing their brand of McCarthyism for decades in Hollywood. I expect that will never change. People who's livelihood depends upon being able to understand emotion and to be able to access them for a performance - independent of what's going on in their lives - tend to give great credence to their emotions when formulating thoughts and ideas. Not everyone, obviously, but the profession tends to attract quite of few people who govern themselves emotionally. instead of intellectually.
ReplyDeleteThere are exceptions to every rule, and this certainly has some, (you could have also mentioned Rob Lowe). I have worked in many fields - mostly engineering, business and computer science - but even engineers and computer scientists can fall prey to the 1-step thinking that liberals use. Even when they think they are analyzing an issue logically, they are usually just validating their emotions and their preconceived notions about a subject. So who could blame many actors and musicians for not properly engaging some deep hard thinking?
"So who could blame many actors and musicians for not properly engaging some deep hard thinking?"
ReplyDeleteI guess I don't blame them, especially with -- as you write -- a dark curtain of opposition to any conservative thought expressed north of Orange County. Imagine the performing arts community in Boston, where I worked for several years -- and they KNEW my leanings. If I didn't have good friends doing some of the casting I'd have never worked.