As the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry was reaching an all-time high in the midst of the 2003-2004 off-season I started hearing too many interviews from three people: Curt Schilling, Alex Rodriguez and Ben Affleck. As an avid Red Sox fan, I had been gradually getting annoyed with the “boy from Good Will Hunting,” the incessant close-ups from the front row at Fenway Park and Ben Affleck speaking to the media as though he were a professional baseball analyst. It finally occurred to me why I was annoyed with Affleck and it had nothing to do with the fact that he’s better looking than I am…
It’s election time and, after the third debate, this election is looking closer than ever. There is a lot of attention swirling around this election due to “hot button” issues such as the War in Iraq, tax-cuts, health care, and same-sex marriages. This is a great time to be an American citizen. If we want, we have the ability to make a change, but we also have the unfortunate burden of listening to our favorite rock-and-roll groups rant and rave about their political ideals and beliefs.
Pete Gillespie ’07 feels as though the bands should stick to playing music and allow him to make his own political decisions.
“I just think I’m capable of making my own decisions and I don’t need Bruce Springsteen to tell me how to vote,” said Gillespie. “I go to concerts to listen to the music and have fun and I get really annoyed when I have to listen to these musicians talk about politics.”
Gillespie is referring to the Vote for Change Tour which features musicians such as The Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., The Dixie Chicks and several others. The “change” that these rockers are alluding to is one that will remove George W. Bush from office and bring John Kerry into the presidency.
Dr. John Orman of the Fairfield politics department co-wrote “Celebrity Politics” and is nationally recognized in the areas of pop culture and politics.
Orman was quoted in the September 20 edition of the San Diego Tribune as saying,”We thought we had seen the zenith of celebrity politics, but as things have developed we have noticed an exponential increase. There was an unequaled celebrity-politics media frenzy. Then the death of Ronald Reagan was covered as if he were a sitting president, and certainly as if he were a pop culture icon.”
Orman went on to say that when you “add Michael Moore to the mix, along with the celebrity rock concert tours that are decidedly anti-Bush, you have a whole new level of celebrity politics in the USA.”
This new level of politics that today’s rockers represent doesn’t come without a price, says Brian Clarke ’07.
“I think musicians alienate their fans when they infuse politics into their music,” said Clarke. “I think people who need Bruce Springsteen or Eddie Vedder to tell them how to vote are not politically educated.”
Certainly everyone in the U.S. is entitled to his or her opinion. Given the forum these rock stars have, they have the ability to express thier opinion to thousands of people at a time. The observation, however, must be made that solely because you can play the guitar and write music well does not mean that you are qualified as an expert on politics. The burden, therefore, lies on the fan who must understand what these opinions are actually worth.
It now occurs to me what it was that bothered me about Ben Affleck. He is a person who gave his opinion on something that he felt passionately about, but he was portrayed as a baseball expert solely because he could act. So as I said to my friend when we saw Affleck jump on his soapbox on Sportscenter, “Why doesn’t he just stick to what he’s good at, and we’ll go to the experts for our opinion on this one.”
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