John Hinderaker, who at the time called himself Rocket Man, in August of 2004:
My tolerance for dumb-ass celebrities who want to tell me how to vote has dwindled down to zero. Springsteen (whom I once admired) is off my iPod. The Chicks, who are excellent musicians and superb live performers, are banned. To my knowledge, I've never listened to Pearl Jam, so their stupidity doesn't pose a challenge.
And then, of course, there are movies. Ben Affleck has been traveling around with John Kerry, lending his penetrating political analyses to the Democrat [sic] cause.
Isn't that sweet?My point, I guess, is that I'm done with these guys. If I'm listening to the radio and a song by the Chicks or Springsteen comes on, I'm changing the channel. If Ben Affleck is in a movie, I'm not going. Period.
And, a few days ago:
Years ago, I attended many more cultural events than I do now. During the 1980s, I was a season ticket holder at Minneapolis' Guthrie Theater. Over time, I became deeply offended by the fact that no matter what the play, whoever put the program together would find a way to work in an attack on the Reagan administration. The last straw was when I went to King Lear at the Guthrie. It was an excellent production, but my enjoyment of it was ruined by the fact that the program was turned into an anti-Reagan tirade. I wasn't even much of a conservative at the time, but the inappropriateness of the whole thing was too much for me.
I didn't "boo loudly," as Glenn suggests; I just quit going. I wonder how many millions of conservative and mainstream Americans have stopped supporting cultural organizations because of this sort of wanton left-wing politicization.
Prospects are dim for Rocket Man. His world is narrowing, the availabe options declining toward zero. Soon he may not be able to leave his subdivision. He'll place himself under house arrest and watch Fox News sixteen hours a day.
Comments