Each November we see celebrities hopping on the political
bandwagon and trying to make a difference in the world
This is also known as election season.
UCLA students were treated to a special surprise recently when
Bill Clinton appeared on campus as part of a Yes on Proposition 87
campaign, and he brought the star of “Commander in
Chief” herself, Gina Davis, along with him.
Just because you play a president on TV, it doesn’t make
you an expert on politics, although that would be pretty cool.
Davis isn’t the only celebrity to talk politics.
Washington D.C. and Hollywood have long been associated with each
other. Washington has even been called “Hollywood for ugly
people” by Sen. John McCain.
Seeing that the majority of celebrity political activists are
either actors or singers, it’s interesting that they branch
out into politics.
Don’t get me wrong; I love famous people.
I’m perfectly content flipping though the tabloids,
looking at photos of stars pretending to get annoyed at the
paparazzi who photograph them leaving The Ivy or strolling solo on
a Malibu beach with their 10 adopted dogs.
But it’s really annoying when they dabble in politics.
Why is it that we give them the opportunity to rant about
political matters? The majority of them do not have any political
experience whatsoever, so why are they treated as experts?
The main reason this bothers me is that it is simply unfair. I
know countless of political science students (myself included) who
have had to slave away studying for the LSAT in hopes of one day
becoming a lawyer and part of the political process, just so they
can be given national attention about things they actually have
experience with.
During the 2004 presidential election, Paris Hilton was
overheard saying she would be voting for John Kerry, and she was
also part of the Diddy-sponsored “Vote or Die”
campaign.
After all of her hard work during election time, she
didn’t even vote in the election, nor was she registered to
vote.
Hilton isn’t the only celeb hypocrite. Ben Affleck, a
strong Democrat who many have claimed will one day run for office,
hasn’t exactly had an admirable voting record.
According to the Web site the-smokinggun.com, Affleck
“made it to the polls exactly once in the past 10 years
““ and didn’t even bother to vote in 2000, when he
traveled the country with Al Gore in an effort to get out the youth
vote .”
The interesting thing is that we have a history of electing
celebrities.
After all, Ronald Reagan was a well-known actor prior to his
stint in the White House, and our lovely governator himself, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, starred in such critically acclaimed films as
“Kindergarten Cop” and “Eraser.”
Why should celebrities automatically be given this attention
when they have done nothing relevant to achieve their
positions?
Celebrities are also often applauded for their humanitarian
efforts.
Maybe they feel they are qualified to enrich the minds of others
because they consider themselves to be such humanitarians.
After all, Angelina Jolie has adopted two orphans and Madonna is
currently browsing the market trying to close the deal.
But do you really become some international do-gooder just
because you adopt a child? I think it’s great that these
children are not going to spend their lives poverty stricken,
obviously, but I think they’re almost becoming the latest
“it” item, such as the teacup Chihuahua that fits into
your purse or the custom-made Prius hybrid car.
The bottom line is simple: We’re all star-struck. The
elected officials sitting in their toasty offices on Capitol Hill
probably just want to be face-to-face with Brangelina, so they nod
their heads and act like they’re actually learning something
when celebrities open their mouths about any given subject.
Like I said before, I have no problem with celebrities. My only
advice to politicians is simple: Stick to Us Weekly if you like
famous people, but please don’t give them political
authority.
If you want to flip through the latest Us Weekly and roast
celebrities, e-mail Shackelford at bshackelford@media.ucla.edu.
Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.
1 CORRECTION: This name was originally
mispelled, but it was corrected.