We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
~ Thomas Jefferson
You will note I have not said much politically as in national- elections-politically in a very long time. Except for mentioning that after the most recent US presidential primary I went from being a life long Republican to a registered Independent.
I haven’t mentioned anything because on both sides of the aisle the ranting and raving especially on social media has been upsetting. We are officially a country of extremism politically at this point and I find that terrifying.
Our President Elect seems incapable of getting out of his own way. He attained the highest office in the land, literally. So why is it at this point so close to the inauguration that he can’t behave in a more shall we say “Presidential” manner?
He likes to criticize people like bloggers and the media and celebrities and basically anyone who disagrees with him in any way. OK so it’s fine to be a cranky person who reacts to everything on Twitter, but this guy is going to be our president officially as in sworn in officially in a matter of days and the only thing he can do is attack Meryl Streep for exercising her right of free speech at the Golden Globes awards ceremony?
It’s not like it’s anything new is it? Award ceremonies are used by celebrities all the time to voice their political opinions and platforms.
Meryl Streep is eloquent and thoughtful. And once again our now President Elect has vilified yet another woman. Why does he have issues with women so often?
Apparently no one else is allowed to say anything he might find upsetting, distressing, personally distasteful. But in that double standard world in which he lives, he can say whatever he wants it’s just everyone else who has to keep their mouths shut.
Newsflash Mr. President elect this isn’t Mother Russia. Pravda need not apply. You don’t have to agree with everyone’s opinion, but our forefathers fought for our freedom’s including freedom of speech.
I actually wonder in addition to trying to completely dismantle our healthcare system if he will try to well rollback freedom of speech a couple hundred years. I am waiting for laws that will hurt bloggers and reporters and anyone at all who has an opinion that differs from the party line that the incoming administration wants out there.
By Elahe Izadi and Amy B Wang Arts and Entertainment. January 9 at 8:32 am
Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. And when the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose. Okay. Go on with that thing.
You do not have to share Meryl Streep’s politics to know she speaks the truth. And this country was founded by people who fought so we could speak our truths and not live under the thumb of tyranny. They died for this.
As Americans are we going to allow the clock to be turned back to a more oppresive form of our country? you know a country where women were barefoot, pregnant, in the kitchen, and didn’t open their mouths?
I could go on but I won’t. I just felt like I had to write about this. Every day I fear more and more that the next four years will be so ugly. We should not be ruled by political extremism and reactionary politics. We should not be ruled.
I’m no Trump supporter but he has a right to answer back when accused. She says if we deport al those foreign born talents there will be nothing left to watch but football and martial arts. She makes a gross representation of what he wants. And if those actors and actresses are here illegally, well, out they go. Period. And as far as making fun of someone for a disability , that reporter has all the ink in the world to write about Donald Trump. It just that now people that are getting misrepresented or smeared now have a voice. I think it would be similar to Chester County Ramblings.
Yes and no. And The Donald and I have very little in common. And there is the WAY he responds. IF he did it DIFFERENTLY and wasn’t always disparaging and demeaning of women I would not have even commented. But as a woman that is what I see. Thanks
And PS thank you for being you and responding like a human being with a brain. Even if we don’t agree with each other completely, thank you for a thoughtful and well-reasoned response.
Thank you, Carla, for speaking out. As I keep trying to explain, my issues with Trump and what his (or the person du moment making an impression on his flea-like attention span) intentions are (not that any of us really know since he nor the GOP actually have any formal written policies…in Trump’s case because he neglected to pay the policy writers, so they quite back in August) would be the complete lack of compassion, empathy and apparent main focus on increasing the bank accounts of the 1%, just to name a few of the top priorities.
Sadly, many do not speak out, on BOTH sides, for fear of retribution from friends and family or due to business concerns. I absolutely concur that the MINORITY extremes on BOTH sides are the major problem and should be of concern to all. Our tenuous hold on a peaceful, civilized, democratic society will not survive the total inability to compromise…to see issues through the eyes of your opposition…to empathize…to be compassionate…to discuss. The MAJORITY of us are in the center, where we’ve been for many decades and have been making incredible strides in figuring out how to get along in a diverse society.
I feel that the progressive agenda of the Democrats demands TOO much of EVERYONE…the minutiae of every perceived sleight and demands to rectify same is above and beyond what anyone should expect when asking for acceptance from others of that which is different from their norm. On the other extreme, the absolute refusal to even consider anything other than their way of life is of any import is the definition of deplorable.
I find it telling that one’s main takeaway from Meryl Streep’s speech would be “foreigners” and “press” and that Trump is being accused, his policies generalized, and a reporter had misrepresented or smeared him. However, many of us think Meryl’s statement was broader than that. I believe she was referring to the Right constantly bashing the “Hollywood elite” and wanted to point out to everyone that they aren’t from Hollywood and how so very many have very humble beginnings whether those were in the US or elsewhere, i.e., the opposite of elite. And, yes, there is his threat of deporting all illegal foreigners, and maybe it was a gross representation, but given she had mere seconds to make a statement, sometimes it takes bold statements to get one’s attention (obviously, she did, so it was effective). By the way, Obama has deported more illegal foreigners than any president, EVER. I won’t get into the multitude of not only gross generalizations and representations, but inaccurate at best and outright false at worst, that our PEOTUS has made that are being normalized, justified and accepted by the Right, yet they deem it outrageous that Meryl Streep made a statement referring to same, which can hardly even be considered a criticism, I might add. This ludicrous and hypocritical behavior is mind boggling to the MAJORITY of us that did NOT vote for Trump. But I digress…back to Barry assertion that not only was Trump being misrepresented and smeared, but that he did not have a voice prior to now, which I will claim to be patently false. Obviously, there are fringe media on both side that misrepresent, if not flat out lie, about people, of which I will posit that the Right is far more guilty of than the Left in my research into same. However, I have found the mainstream media that has been so terrifyingly vilified in a way that smacks of authoritarianism, etc. has actually made it a point to be above and beyond accurate and inscrutable due to these allegations. Yes, you can claim they are biased merely because they report on Trump, but their reports are accurate and backed up with verifiable references, etc. I also think they made it a point to bend over backwards to report on allegations against Clinton, I believe to the extreme considering the absence of any legal wrongdoing, especially in comparison to Trump and his advisers’ multitude of questionable, unethical, illegal, etc. activities. Not to mention that Trump has ALWAYS had a voice…one that tells whatever audience he is front of what it wants to hear. His ability to lie is beyond sociopathic and the ability of his advisers to justify same is akin to those suffering from Stockholm Syndrome…I just don’t get it.
However, above and beyond whether or not Trump was smeared or had a voice is the incredulous fact that Barry and others have NO problem with a candidate for president mocking, ridiculing and humiliating not only a disabled man, but a reporter,, and that Trump was justified in doing so merely because he PERCEIVED to have disrespected him. Nor was it just that one reporter…he riled up his audiences to turn on the press pool, which is very disturbing. He has also managed to convince his supporters that ONLY he and FOX and Breitbart are telling them the truth…the three BIGGEST sources of false news. Does anyone recall Obama, a gentleman who endured the most horrifying, vile, deplorable, despicable, disgusting assertions and opinions I’ve ever witnessed, along with his lovely family that did nothing to deserve same, whining about the horrors inflicted on him and his family by out-and-out racists who were not only citizens but government officials…NO…you do not…not ONE tweet…ever. Nor did Obama ever call these people out as his “enemies” as our baby man PEOTUS did in his NY tweet…SAD!
Back to the reporter…the reason I’m truly incensed by Trump and everyone else that is outraged by what Meryl Streep said is their total lack of comprehension of the actual message, which was how this behavior is being normalized and how dangerous it is to do…behavior my parents would have knocked the crap out of me for…behavior I would knock the crap out of someone for…behavior that SHOULD NOT BE ACCEPTED IN SOMEONE HOLDING THE HIGHEST POSITION OF POWER IN OUR COUNTRY!
As she said…
“…this instinct to humiliate when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.”
I believe her words were nothing short of what you might hear from the Pope or the Dalai Lama…but then again Trump picked a Twitter fight with the Pope too…and ALL of THAT is highly disturbing and does not portend well for the next four years.
It is the responsibility of ALL people who disagree with hate, ignorance and injustice to speak out, and it IS the responsibility of the press to speak truth to power and question authority…whether or not the subject matter likes it!
As I will say until my dying breath, you are entitled to your opinion, and I will respect that opinion whether or not I agree with it, and I will defend your right to that opinion, but you are not entitled to your own facts.