Matt Damon Rocks (Or Why Famous People Should Not Be Maligned For Voicing Opinions)

I really wonder about certain perspectives. Like, the idea that famous people - actors, musicians, writers, etc. - shouldn't talk about politics or policies. These are people that we basically - though most of us passively - stalk. We buy (or just flip through) magazines with their faces on it, pictures that are oftentimes taken through incredibly powerful photolenses from large distances. We want to know what they are wearing, what they are eating, what they are drinking, how they parent, and what products they endorse. We'll buy perfume if it has been endorsed by someone we like. We'll drink more Starbucks. We'll show more interest in designers or cuts or jackets. But the second someone opens their mouth about something truly important, we tell them to shut up. We tell them that they have no business discussing matters of the state.

Kid Rock says, "I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep our mouths shut on politics... ...Because at the end of the day, I'm good at writing songs and singing. What I'm not educated in is the field of political science. And so for me to be sharing my views and influencing people of who I think they should be voting for... I think would be very irresponsible on my part". But here's the thing. As a citizen of these here United States of America, anybody anywhere has the right (and some would say the responsibility) to think about, talk about, and debate the nature of American politics and politicians. Most people aren't educated in the field of political science. But that doesn't mean that we should not think about the issues and discuss the issues. We shouldn't vote for someone (or not) just because Kid Rock (or Matt Damon) told us their opinion on that person. But these people should not feel hindered in giving their opinion either. Because as a citizen, that is their right. They should be allowed to say, "I have misgivings because", or "I support this candidate because". They have a right to voice their opinion on this thing that at the end of the day really matters. They have a right to use their celebrity to bring focus to issues that matter to them. They have a right to expect us, their fans, to recognize that they aren't deciding who we should vote for, any more than they decide what we should buy or what we should drink. But if we scrutinize their every choice, who they date and what they eat and how they lose the weight from what they eat, then they should be able to voice their opinion about a choice we all get to make every four years. Because being less than scholarly doesn't seem to stop anyone else from voicing their sometimes astute and sometimes obnoxious opinions about any number of issues. And since these are people who live in this country, they have the right to talk about who and what they think would be better for this country.

Matt Damon Is My New(est) Love

I've always enjoyed Matt Damon. I won't go see movies just for him (unlike, say, Shia LaBeouf), but I think he is an intensely charismatic and talented actor who I genuinely respect, craft-wise. Now, I think I've got a full blown crush on him due to this little video clip:

My favorite line of the thing may be:

"I need to know if she things that dinosaurs were here four thousand years ago. That's an important -I want to know that. I really do. Because she's gonna have the nuclear codes."

Let me make it clear that I give McCain a good chance of living through his first and possibly even his second term if he is indeed elected president. After all, his mom's still bopping around, and she seems not only adorable but fully mentally and physically capable. But that doesn't change the fact that his death -any president's death- is a distinct possibility, and Matt Damon is right to bring up the fact that maybe we don't want someone in the White House who believes not only in creationism but also thinks that the Iraq War is a holy war; I mean, that's what we have in office now. And we can see where that's gotten us.