The wisdom of Hollywood

Yes, the title of this post is, in fact, an oxymoron. Wisdom? Hollywood? The two words don't belong together in the same sentence.

I am completely fed up with celebrities meddling in politics. I mean, Martin Sheen might as well say, "Well since I did play the President of the United States on TV, I feel like I have a thorough understanding of the Executive Branch and the issues at hand..." Riiiiiight.

Look, George Clooney, Sean Penn, Pink, Julia Roberts, Alec Baldwin, Matt Damon and you other self-righteous hypocrites: YOUR political opinion is no more important than mine, even though I'm just one of the "little people." You know, those lesser-known middle-class Americans who helped propel your careers to where they are now. Remember us? Yes, hard-working, God-fearing Southerners and Midwesterners -- not just West- and East-Coasters, as you might forget -- whose jobs require them to do more than wear costumes and regurgitate scripted lines in front of a camera.

Sure, it's noble to go out there and promote those less fortunate than you, but if you really cared about the poor, the hungry and the abused, you would sell two of your homes and a few of your cars (and maybe consider spending less than $1,000 on an outfit -- "yes, you can!"), and use that money to build shelters for the homeless, or create hundreds more scholarships for inner city school children, or construct free clinics for the less fortunate. Hell, Hollywood, you're the ones who love social programs! Why not finance some of them yourselves?

And yes, those $10 thousand-a-plate fundraising dinners -- with the ladies wearing $3,000 designer name gowns -- are a start, but truthfully, it's a little silly to invest tens of thousands of dollars in a one-night dinner with a not-so-significant rate of return. Sure, I bet it's nice to dress up and show off your new clothing in front of hordes of papparazzi and show the public just how magnanimous you are... But why not just launch your own organizations to go out there and do the dirty work? Forget the glitz and the glamour, and stop worrying about seeing your photo in People Magazine.

True bleeding hearts don't own seven large houses in numerous countries across the world or keep a fleet of luxury cars sitting in a dusty, cobwebbed garage; they don't spent $10 thousand a night on a month long tropical island getaway and keep six closetfuls of designer clothes. They learn to live a little more modestly than that so that they can contribute money towards something greater than themselves.

And I don't mean to disparage those Hollywood celebrities who do live more modestly so as to give back -- Paul Newman was a fine example of someone who walked the walk and didn't just talk the talk. He gave back and even launched his own earth-friendly brand, Newman's Own, whose profits went toward making the world a better place.

And yes, maybe celebrities give back more than I realize... But even so, they're not giving back enough. If you make $20 million a year and you only give back $1 million, that is definitely NOT enough! You could donate $2 million a year to charitable causes and still not know you were missing any of it.

Of course you don't have to give back anything, Hollywood -- the choice is yours. But don't pretend to be such bleeding hearts if you're not going to practice what you preach. And don't make snide comments about those who do give back more than you, such as conservative Southerners. A study was done years ago to see which state gave back the most, as a percentage of income. Know what the highest-ranking state was? Alabama. And the state that gave back the least? Massachusetts.

If you make $20 thousand a year and of that money you give back $2,000, then you're still giving back more than someone who makes $100 thousand and gives back only $5,000.

If Hollywood were to stop acting like a bunch of self-indulgent spoiled children, and instead contribute more money toward the greater good, then THAT would be change I could believe in.