Artists are arguably the least qualified to offer any opinion and judgment on geopolitical issues. Their opinions are no more valid that that of some drunk at the end of a bar or a vagrant. When they acquire a platform for a different reason (music, art, etc.) the exploit it to impose their opinions on people who are paying attention to them for a completely different reason.
For the record Eric Clapton has always been known as a moron. Even contemporaries who speak well of him say he's a dim bulb. And in the 1970s, during a show in the U.K. he launched a racist, white nationalist tirade from the stage (look it up). Rod Stewart is washed up doing a stupid Vegas act, and Elvis Costello has been a sanctimonious fraud for decades.
If they had any dignity at all, they'd realize "Shut up and sing" is great advice, not something to get offended about.
I agree Kip. I went to an art school during high school, then I went to college and got a degree in Political Science. After that, I got an MBA. I won a business, and obviously I'm a writer, but I also paint and am a musician. Artists are almost always very ignorant, sanctimonious, HIGHLY narcissistic people - with ZERO intellectual curiosity. Art, and usually they're pretty bad at that too - is their way of getting attention - which is invariably their only real concern.
I didn't know that Clapton was known as a moron. But the incident you are referring to is well known. I disliked Rod Stewart going back to his disco days. The only reason I ever saw him is because he performed "Truth" in its entirety with Jeff Beck. But to hear that, I had to sit through what you correctly call a "stupid Vegas act." That went on for way too long (and a few minutes is too long, but this actually went on for at least two hours). When Jeff Beck finally came on - it felt like an afterthought for Stewart. Which was even more aggravating because he billed the entire show as being with Beck.
They should all "shut up and sing." Which was much more the norm for all entertainers in the past. But the 60s began the idiocy of treating these people like their opinions matter. They themselves reveal their own vapidity when they claim that it is "their job as artists" to comment on the world. In fact, their main job is, for all of them, to entertain us. Anyone who believes that they have some kind of inherent power to "interpret" the world for the rest of us, has a level of ego that automatically disqualifies them from actually mattering.
Carrying a big (IDF, IAF, INF) stick with conventional and nuclear capabilities is extremely intimidating to adversarial nations. Individuals with self defense and a twist of offensive capabilities are a nice combination whether living in Israel or the United States or in Europe. Fear of Jews (whatever the rationale) continues to escalate. Do not fail to be empowered by this misperception propagated by our detractors.
I agree. My next article (which I finished just a few minutes ago) is about the pointlessness of trying to understand antisemitism, while remembering that why they hate us doesn't really matter because being Jewish is something that they will never understand, and their hatred is completely irrational. Their fear of us is, as you correctly stated, extremely empowering.
Thank you Joshua for your insights and plain speaking. Israel is actively teaching the world that population size matters less than self defense excellence. Individuals can learn Krav Maga and situational awareness. Israel and the United States continue to integrate defensive “dome” capabilities that build upon conventional Patriot and THAAD missiles and add speed-of-light (eg lasers and EMP devices) shareable only with true allies. Defensive excellence is invaluable to any thriving Jewish community on a day-to-day basis. Moral clarity and Jewish self assuredness are essential. Thank you for your clarity and recognition that Jewish moral clarity is the antidote to neighbors’ “moral equivalence “ cowardice. Am Yisrael Chai!
Thank you Gary, that is very kind of you. Plain speaking is the only way that I can do it. It gets me in trouble more often than not, but it helps me when I write. I agree with every point. Israel's technical excellence is impressive, and I hope that it can continue to develop and share that tech with the United States. As you may have guessed, I despise the "ghetto mentality" (as I call it) and the stereotype of the Jew as a nebbish. You are correct in asserting that Jewish moral clarity is the antidote to the sickness of moral equivalence, which is absolute cowardice, and at the same time it is the root cause of all antisemitism. As I'm sure you know, none of this is new. Hashem put it in the Chumash for a reason! The lesson is that there is no greater way to battle all hatred of us than to live as proud Jews. Am Yisrael Chai!
Artists are arguably the least qualified to offer any opinion and judgment on geopolitical issues. Their opinions are no more valid that that of some drunk at the end of a bar or a vagrant. When they acquire a platform for a different reason (music, art, etc.) the exploit it to impose their opinions on people who are paying attention to them for a completely different reason.
For the record Eric Clapton has always been known as a moron. Even contemporaries who speak well of him say he's a dim bulb. And in the 1970s, during a show in the U.K. he launched a racist, white nationalist tirade from the stage (look it up). Rod Stewart is washed up doing a stupid Vegas act, and Elvis Costello has been a sanctimonious fraud for decades.
If they had any dignity at all, they'd realize "Shut up and sing" is great advice, not something to get offended about.
I agree Kip. I went to an art school during high school, then I went to college and got a degree in Political Science. After that, I got an MBA. I won a business, and obviously I'm a writer, but I also paint and am a musician. Artists are almost always very ignorant, sanctimonious, HIGHLY narcissistic people - with ZERO intellectual curiosity. Art, and usually they're pretty bad at that too - is their way of getting attention - which is invariably their only real concern.
I didn't know that Clapton was known as a moron. But the incident you are referring to is well known. I disliked Rod Stewart going back to his disco days. The only reason I ever saw him is because he performed "Truth" in its entirety with Jeff Beck. But to hear that, I had to sit through what you correctly call a "stupid Vegas act." That went on for way too long (and a few minutes is too long, but this actually went on for at least two hours). When Jeff Beck finally came on - it felt like an afterthought for Stewart. Which was even more aggravating because he billed the entire show as being with Beck.
They should all "shut up and sing." Which was much more the norm for all entertainers in the past. But the 60s began the idiocy of treating these people like their opinions matter. They themselves reveal their own vapidity when they claim that it is "their job as artists" to comment on the world. In fact, their main job is, for all of them, to entertain us. Anyone who believes that they have some kind of inherent power to "interpret" the world for the rest of us, has a level of ego that automatically disqualifies them from actually mattering.
Carrying a big (IDF, IAF, INF) stick with conventional and nuclear capabilities is extremely intimidating to adversarial nations. Individuals with self defense and a twist of offensive capabilities are a nice combination whether living in Israel or the United States or in Europe. Fear of Jews (whatever the rationale) continues to escalate. Do not fail to be empowered by this misperception propagated by our detractors.
I agree. My next article (which I finished just a few minutes ago) is about the pointlessness of trying to understand antisemitism, while remembering that why they hate us doesn't really matter because being Jewish is something that they will never understand, and their hatred is completely irrational. Their fear of us is, as you correctly stated, extremely empowering.
Thank you Joshua for your insights and plain speaking. Israel is actively teaching the world that population size matters less than self defense excellence. Individuals can learn Krav Maga and situational awareness. Israel and the United States continue to integrate defensive “dome” capabilities that build upon conventional Patriot and THAAD missiles and add speed-of-light (eg lasers and EMP devices) shareable only with true allies. Defensive excellence is invaluable to any thriving Jewish community on a day-to-day basis. Moral clarity and Jewish self assuredness are essential. Thank you for your clarity and recognition that Jewish moral clarity is the antidote to neighbors’ “moral equivalence “ cowardice. Am Yisrael Chai!
Thank you Gary, that is very kind of you. Plain speaking is the only way that I can do it. It gets me in trouble more often than not, but it helps me when I write. I agree with every point. Israel's technical excellence is impressive, and I hope that it can continue to develop and share that tech with the United States. As you may have guessed, I despise the "ghetto mentality" (as I call it) and the stereotype of the Jew as a nebbish. You are correct in asserting that Jewish moral clarity is the antidote to the sickness of moral equivalence, which is absolute cowardice, and at the same time it is the root cause of all antisemitism. As I'm sure you know, none of this is new. Hashem put it in the Chumash for a reason! The lesson is that there is no greater way to battle all hatred of us than to live as proud Jews. Am Yisrael Chai!