But then again is it not incumbent upon a person to use a position of influence to strive towards the goals one holds dearest? I admire anyone who speaks their mind, and I trust my own logic and education to weed out those who have valid points from those who don't. Any argument should be evaluated based on its own merits, rather than discarded arbitrarily on the basis of who said it.

What I find far more concerning is the lack of tact and civility in public discourse. There is also a certain amount of irony that someone who complains of a lack of professionalism in public discourse would in the same breath publish a pointless and demeaning characterization such as "mental midgets." The aut...

But then again is it not incumbent upon a person to use a position of influence to strive towards the goals one holds dearest? I admire anyone who speaks their mind, and I trust my own logic and education to weed out those who have valid points from those who don't. Any argument should be evaluated based on its own merits, rather than discarded arbitrarily on the basis of who said it.

What I find far more concerning is the lack of tact and civility in public discourse. There is also a certain amount of irony that someone who complains of a lack of professionalism in public discourse would in the same breath publish a pointless and demeaning characterization such as "mental midgets." The author of this opinion is clearly glib, immature, intolerant of opposing ideas, and above all else, not even remotely qualified to don the mantle of a journalist. In that sense, (s)he is no better than the worst of the celebrity pundits (s)he riles against.

Actually, I will concede that this raises an interesting point. After all, the impact of a voice should be weighed before it is raised. Although I may politically agree with them, there are many celebrities on the left who I wish would say less instead of more, if only because it diminishes the cause they are trying to advocate.

However, if we were to debate the quality of articulation in political opinions, I defy you to name any public figure these days who truly rises above the filth and the muck. In the end, I can't say I hold politicians in much higher regard than actors.

What I argue is not that Rosie O'Donnel or Sean Penn are model spokespeople, or worthy of one's respect. Instead,...

Actually, I will concede that this raises an interesting point. After all, the impact of a voice should be weighed before it is raised. Although I may politically agree with them, there are many celebrities on the left who I wish would say less instead of more, if only because it diminishes the cause they are trying to advocate.

However, if we were to debate the quality of articulation in political opinions, I defy you to name any public figure these days who truly rises above the filth and the muck. In the end, I can't say I hold politicians in much higher regard than actors.

What I argue is not that Rosie O'Donnel or Sean Penn are model spokespeople, or worthy of one's respect. Instead, I am saying we should critique the speaker directly, not the fact that they are a celebrity. Otherwise I feel like we are indicting the predatory narcissism of American popular culture simply out of political convenience, because we find it any easy way to dismiss the political views of these activists.

But there is another valid point, that the left is not faultless either. The left's failure to address the fact that conservatives are also rational people is one of the main reasons they are so ineffective in American politics.

Although it may surprise you, I have no small amount of admiration for people such as Charleton Heston, or Barry Goldwater. I don't necessarily agree with them all the time (although sometimes I do) I would never dismiss them simply because they disagreed with me.