The dumbed-down generation

[The Avon Lady]

Words escape me.

[XanderF]

I'm afraid I'm missing the connection from the title to the link. Or do you judge professional skill and technical intelligence by recreational interests, and further judge the 'best and brightest' of each generation by the lowest common denominator?

[Tchocky]

let's not forget the Music-hall tradition..

[robbo180265]

I thought it was me.

Surely entertainers would be the most well recognised people anyway? I could reel off loads of footballers (sorry soccer ) names, but in all honesty couldn't name as many of the Labour party,and even less Tories. And who is running the Lib Dems again?

[AntEater]

We had something similar in Germany recently, where the two "most influential german intellectuals" turned out to be Pope Benedict XVI. and Harald Schmidt (some kind of german copy of David Letterman).

[Yahoshua]

I'm so thankful our nation isn't run by bogus national polls and slanted questionaires.

But what AL means by the title is that newswriters consider actors (who have no political value whatsoever) as being more influential than politicians themselves (whom, as we all know, DO decide how our lives are influenced).

[Heibges]

What about Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenager, Fred Thomsen, Jessie Ventura, Sonny Bono, and the dude from Love Boat, who were actors that became politicians.

There seem to be only a half dozen or so entertainment figures on the list.

Not that I'm making a comparison between them and Leonardo, but Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Leni Reifenstahl, TS Elliot, Eli Wiesel, Boris Pasternak, etc. etc. etc. were also entertainment figures who were also very influential, more so than most politicians.

[Yahoshua]

Politicians hold the approval stamp to pass laws or write them. Actors don't.

[robbo180265]

Originally Posted by Yahoshua

Politicians hold the approval stamp to pass laws or write them. Actors don't.

Politicians are also incredibly boring people.Youngsters are more interested in Posh and Becks than Bush and Blair, so it follows that Posh and Becks should end up more famous - surely?

[fatty]

Originally Posted by Yahoshua

Politicians hold the approval stamp to pass laws or write them. Actors don't.

But politicians [are supposed to] rely on and represent voters who watch television, go to the movies, and listen to music. It's not accurate to say actors have no political value - while they don't directly participate in the political process (except for Heibges' people) they can and do use their superstar status to influence the public.

[Tchocky]

Angelina Jolie's work for the UN as a Goodwill Ambassador, etc

Having a public profile gives you an opportunity to bring attention to certain causes/problems.
Of course you'll always get "they should just stick to being actors/singers"/"damn Commiewood Commiefornia"/etF*ckingcetera

[Yahoshua]

Actors' can't exactly be scapegoated for the failings of a political party, they also don't participate in active proceedings of legislature or politics, save for when they go to the voting booth every 2 years.

Just about anyone can bring attention to an issue, they don't need to be famous or be an actor to do so. Cindy sheehan and Jim Gilchrist are just a couple of examples.


Robbo- While you're correct that whoever holds the interest of more people will be more famous, yet I cannot recall the last time an actor or celebrity had a face-to-face talk or discussion of national policy with a foreign diplomat.

Aside from influence among their fans who wish to emulate every atom in their idols' body, actors and celebrities have no political value whatsoever.

[tycho102]

Originally Posted by The Avon Lady

Words escape me.

That's America. Life is good. I've been saying that the moslems don't know what the hell they're doing. And it is very strange because it's the most logical conclusion from their perspective. When they flip on the television to study the kuffir enemy, who do they see? They see Britney Spears, Madonna's bobbies, Sean Penn, Paris Hilton, Susan Sarandon, The Sopranos, and Spiderman 3.

They don't see god damn CSPAN. They don't see Questions for the Prime Minister. They don't see Maria Bartellomo or Donald Trump (at least, not anymore) or Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or Warren Buffet or Ross Perot.

New York was nothing. It took the financial sector 3 months to divy up the pieces -- the emotional damage took 4 days, mainly because the news channel anchors got bored with the same story. It could have taken a month or two had the entire cast of Friends been wiped out, but they weren't.


If they ever hit Hollywood, stand by. Break out the bottled water, fill your bathtubs, load your firearms with the heavy stuff if they aren't already. It will bring this whole damn country to a stand still like nothing since 1929 -- financially and emotionally. Trading will be suspended for over a week straight -- either by fiat, or procedure (2% for one hour, 5% for the rest of the day).

[robbo180265]

Originally Posted by Yahoshua

Robbo- While you're correct that whoever holds the interest of more people will be more famous, yet I cannot recall the last time an actor or celebrity had a face-to-face talk or discussion of national policy with a foreign diplomat.

Bono with Bush

Bob Geldoff with Blair

[Heibges]

Willie Nelson with Farmaid.