Should Artists and Celebrities be able to express their Political Opinions?

[ragedaddy]

I am just wondering what everybody thinks here about Musical Artists and Celebrities expressing their political opinion. Do you think, yes the 1st Ammendment gives them to say anything they want, or do you believe that these people should maintain more of a responsibility to be more neutral? The example here, everyone's favorite confrontational artist, Eminem, A.K.A Marshall Mathers has decided to express his own opinion on the "Current Administration".

The Lyrics as follows:

"Mosh"

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America
And to the Republic for which it stands
One nation under God
Indivisible...
It feels so good to be back..

I scrutinize every word, memorize every line
I spit it once, refuel and re-energize and rewind
I give sight to the blind, my insight through the mind
I exercise my right to express when I feel it's time
It's just all in your mind, what you interpret it as
I say to fight, you take it as I'mma whip someone's ass
If you don't understand, don't even bother to ask
A father who has grown up with a fatherless past
Who has blown up now to rap phenomenon that has
Or at least shows no difficulty multi-task
And in juggling both perhaps mastered his craft
Slash entrepreneur who has helped launch a few more rap acts
Who's had a few obstacles thrown his way through the last half
Of his career typical manure moving past that
Mr. kisses ass crack, he's a class act
Rubber band man, yea he just snaps back

[Chorus:]
Come along follow me as I lead through the darkness
As I provide just enough spark that we need to proceed
Carry on, give me hope, give me strength
Come with me and I won't steer you wrong
Put your faith and your trust as I guide us through the fog
To the light at the end of the tunnel
We gonna fight, we gonna charge, we gonna stomp, we gonna march
Through the swamp, we gonna mosh through the marsh
Take us right through the doors (c'mon)

All the people up top on the side and the middle
Come together lets all bomb and swamp just a little
Just let it gradually build from the front to the back
All you can see is a sea of people some white and some black
Don't matter what color, all that matters we gathered together
To celebrate for the same cause don't matter the weather
If it rains let it rain, yea the wetter the better
They ain't gonna stop us they can't, we stronger now more than ever
They tell us no we say yea, they tell us stop we say go
Rebel with a rebel yell, raise hell we gonna let em know
Stomp, push, shove, mush, F*ck Bush, until they bring our troops home (c'mon)

[Chorus]

Imagine it pouring, it's raining down on us
Mosh pits outside the oval office
Someone's tryina tell us something,
Maybe this is god just sayin' we're responsible
For this monster, this coward,
That we have empowered
This is Bin Laden, look at his head noddin'
How could we allow something like this without pumping our fists
Now this is our final hour
Let me be the voice in your strength and your choice
Let me simplify the rhyme just to amplify the noise
Try to amplify the times it, and multiply by six...
Teen million people, Are equal at this high pitch
Maybe we can reach alqueda through my speech
Let the president answer a higher anarchy
Strap him with an Ak-47, let him go, fight his own war
Let him impress daddy that way
No more blood for oil, we got our own battles to fight on our own soil
No more psychological warfare, to trick us to thinking that we ain't loyal
If we don't serve our own country, we're patronizing a hero
Look in his eyes its all lies
The stars and stripes, they've been swiped, washed out and wiped
And replaced with his own face, Mosh now or die
If I get sniped tonight you know why,
Cause I told you to fight.

[Chorus]

And as we proceed,
To Mosh through this desert storm,
In these closing statements, if they should argue
Let us beg to differ
As we set aside our differences
And assemble our own army
To disarm this Weapon of Mass Destruction
That we call our President, for the present
And Mosh for the future of our next generation
To speak and be heard
Mr. President, Mr. Senator
Do you guy's hear us...hear us...[laughing] (Hailie)


What are your feelings after reading these lyrics such as these?

[mad pierrot]

It's a decent music video, too.

Check it out HERE.

As far as them having a responsiblity to be neutral, I don't believe in that at all. They're artists to begin with, and art is, by its very nature, subjective. They make a living by expressing themselves. So why shouldn't they express their thoughts on politics? It's part of the game. Personally, I tend to have a higher respect for artists that risk criticism by doing so.

[Glenn]

I say of course they have the right. That doesn't mean that I care what they think, though. I care as much about what a celebrity thinks about politics as I do about what some random guy on the street does, i.e. jack squat. I really could care less about celebrities in the first place, much less about their political views.

[Brooker]

Art is a great way to express political beliefs.

[Bob in Iowa]

Art is such a personal expression of the artist that I think that it would be difficult for an artist of integrity to withold an expression of political opinion when able to do so within the creative medium of the particular artist. Of course when an artform such as music becomes a conduit for the artist's political opinions, I tend to tune out the ones with which I disagree or find annoying, and listen to the music that supports my own opinions.

What I do find interesting is how the public reacts to artists who voice their opinions outside of their art, and find it contrary to their image of what they imagined the artist to be. Case in point, the Dixie Chicks' music is not political, but do you remember all the country western fans who shunned the Dixie Chicks, even burning their CD's after Natalie Maynes expressed shame over being from the same state as gee dubya. I was never a big fan of theirs anyway, but good grief, did it really change their music -- it's still the same? On the other hand when Brittney Spears announced that she supported bush, it had no effect on what I thought of her or her music. She was and still is a vacuous little bimbo whose music was and still is gooey pap, but I still like to watch her shake her ass.

[mad pierrot]

Will Smith Labelled Anti-American
6:53 pm PST, 4 December 2004

A-list actor Will Smith has outraged right-wing Americans after he compared the 9/11 terrorists to racist American cops.
The Men In Black and I-Robot star made the comments while speaking candidly to a German newspaper.
When asked if the terror attacks had changed him, Smith said absolutely not.
"Whether you are wounded in an attack by a racist cop or in a terrorist attack, I'm sorry, it makes no difference.
"In the 60s, blacks were continuously the victims of terrorist attacks. It was civil terrorism, but terrorism nonetheless," he said.
This was enough to persuade the group Patriotic Americans Boycotting Anti-American Hollywood to add Smith to its list of "banned" stars.
The 36-year-old will find himself in good company - the list already includes Robert Redford and Renee Zellweger.
Patriotic Americans founder Jon Alvarez says he has always been a huge fan of Smith, but now he is "not going to put a dime in Will Smith's pockets."

[Bob in Iowa]

UnAmerican -- oh yeah, now is the time to pull that one out of the dusty locker of timeless labels to be applied to anyone whose voice clashes a note of disharmony in the chorus of lemmings.

[RockLee]

Will Smith Labelled Anti-American
6:53 pm PST, 4 December 2004

hahaha...like he gives a **** about what those morons think...he's swimming in money, so he dun give a dayum !!


I agree with Mosh being very good song + pv !!

[CC1]

I say of course they have the right. That doesn't mean that I care what they think, though. I care as much about what a celebrity thinks about politics as I do about what some random guy on the street does, i.e. jack squat. I really could care less about celebrities in the first place, much less about their political views.

Glenn you nailed it! I could really care less what artists think about anything. I can read the news, listen to what is going on, and draw my own conclusions. Why do I need someone else to tell me what to think?

[Martyr]

*Looks at signature.*

[Duo]

yeah sure why not :P

[Miss_apollo7]

So far, we all agree on this poll.....

YEAH. for freedom of speech!

[ragedaddy]

Yes, I agree with you guys as well, as I feel that under the 1st Ammendment right, anybody has the right to express their views freely. I feel most people are mature enough to make their own view and decisions regardless what they hear from musical artists or celebrities.

I also agree with the fact when you happen to criticize the anything about America regarding the Government, that you get the instant label of being "Unpatriotic." It's kinda like there is this impression that everything about the US is flawless, and its system is far superior to any other ones out there. All I can say that nothing is perfect, and just because you think there should be improvements in the US, shouldn't label as being seen as "Unpatriotic."

I think mindframe of being "unpatriotic" stems from the American education system. I remember growing up and learning about US history among other subjects, and the way we were taught is that America is this great country. In our studies as kids, we would never hear about any negative aspects or criticism of the US, and so it seems that we were thus brought up to be patriotic. Now, to have this conflicting view against the norm, seems to be labelling people as being "outsiders." I think in Universities nowadays, a person is able to learn from other points of view, and not just a nationalistic one. This may be one of the reasons it seems "taboo" to speak out against our government.

What is your opinion about younger kids who are more impressionable to views being expressed by a musical artist or celebrity. There are younger fans out there who are crazy about various artists and celebrities, so some might be more influenced and develop the views of the person they are fanatical towards. I guess the same could be said about the mainstream rap music out today. Much of it relates to drugs, violence, and being demeaning towards women. Do you think kids who listen to these lyrics are likely to develop the same attitudes as their favorite rappers, or do you think there are other external factors that have an impact on these kids? The same question goes for political views as well.....

[Maciamo]

I think that celebrities have the right to think what they want and vote for who they want, but they shouldn't use their influence to tell people what to vote. Actually, if it were up to me, any celebrity (like Schwarzie) shouldn't even be allowed to become politcian, because too many (simple-minded) people would vote for the singer or actor/actress they like rather than their political ideas. I also think that ordinary people should not be entitled to vote at elections without passing a small test regarding the manifesto of each political party participating at the election. Those who have no idea shouldn't be able to vote. If that system were implemented, the world would be a much better place, where demagogues have no place.

I would also add that any politician who does not actively seek to fulfill their political pledge should be fired, and those who after there term have gone against their pledge should be punished. In case of force majeure (such as 9/11), it is not the high-ranking politicians who should make the decisions, but the people through referendums. This is the true meaning of democracy, and I will not acknowledge any country that does not respect these principles as democratic.

[Martyr]

That wouldn't be constitutional and America is a democratic republic. Thankfully that won't (I hope) happen here.

[Miss_apollo7]

I am all for a freedom of speech, but the latest news about the new introduction of a Bill in Britain about British comedians' restricted rights to utter "sensitive issues" such as religion and race and make fun about it, makes this discussion even more interesting..

The British government wishes to extend the existing law about racial discrimination to include religion.
Today, someone can get punished if he uses abusive, threatening, or derogatory language to stir up/incite racism.

Hence, IMO, celebrities should have their rights and utter their political opinions, but to stir up/incite other people to disrespect other religions or race is dangerous.

[Bob in Iowa]

Hence, IMO, celebrities should have their rights and utter their political opinions, but to stir up/incite other people to disrespect other religions or race is dangerous.

I view racism to be reprehensible, however I find censorship to be even moreso. Passing laws that restrict freedom of speech is, in my opinion, more dangerous than celebrities trying to incite feelings of hatred in others, because enforcement of censorship laws can be a vehicle for bureaucratic control to slant the public discourse into a direction consistent with a particular model of moral values consistent with political agenda.

For example, recently the FCC has been cracking down on over the public airwaves broadcasting, imposing heavy fines on broadcasters who violate the rather nebulous restrictions on material inconsistent with the 'moral values' that the FCC deems to be acceptable. The most notable case, of course, is the one in which the FCC fined CBS over $500,000 for airing the super bowl halftime show in which cute little Janet Jackson exposed a lovely bare bejewled breast. On the other hand, the FCC does nothing about the deluge of racist commentary that spews forth on the same public airwaves on various talk radio programs accross the country.

--Bob

[Jungle Boy]

I'm fully agianst censorship of any kind. People need to be able to say what they feel and not be afraid of retaliation from the government for expressing thier opinions.

[Censport]

It's my opinion that celebrities have every right to express their political views, whether it's in an interview or through their art.

That said, those same celebrities need to be aware that their critics have that exact same right. Which is where things heat up. The Dixie Chicks' singer apparently felt that while she had the right to speak out against the president while she was on foreign soil, those who then spoke out against her didn't have an equal right to be critical of her. How dare the little people smash Dixie Chicks CDs! And that's one thing that escapes so many celebrities: They're not any better than their fans or critics. There are other things that obviously escape them (being famous doesn't mean you're always right), but that's the one that best fits this thread.

[BlackenedEyes]

All Americans have the right to freedom; however it is, oddly enough, a conditional freedom where they the right to be free, unless their freedoms infringe on the freedoms of others. Although actors and actresses may be influencial, I don't think that is a cause for censorship.

Also, the part about Will Smith remindes me about "The Magestic".

[Shooter452]

Why not? I see no reason why celebs should be restricted from making fools of themselves any more than the rest of us?

Anyone who is foolish enough to be swayed by a celebrity only because they enjoy the performance of these figures, should be neutered so that they would be prevented from reproducing!

Just kidding, gang! Just kidding! *ducking*

[Mycernius]

If a celebrity takes notice of what happens in their contry they have the same right as anyone else to express their opinion. It's the ones who express an opinion and then mention that they don't vote or no longer live in that country that shouldn't. The same goes for average joe who does the same. Fair enough their views might influence some people, but some people are sheep and will always follow the view of a celebrity be they smart or airheads

[Rastko Pocesta]

Everyone is entitled to same rights and equality before the law, in my opinion. That, of course, includes the artists and the celebrities.