Acclaimed actress Meryl Streep recently made a speech at the Golden Globes. You, um, may have heard about it.
As should be no great surprise given how much the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has showered Streep with love over her career—and deservedly so, let me be clear—she was called to the podium during the ceremony to accept the Cecil B. DeMille Award, an honorary award given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” As actors and other entertainers often do, Streep took the opportunity to preach a little to those in attendance and those listening at home, and her remarks had a definite political lean to them. This passage, in particular, had people’s ears perked up:
Hollywood is crawling with outsiders and foreigners. If you kick ’em all out, you’ll have nothing to watch but football and mixed martial arts, which are not the arts. They gave me three seconds to say this. An actor’s only job is to enter the lives of people who are different from us and let you feel what that feels like. And there were many, many, many powerful performances this year that did exactly that, breathtaking, passionate work.
There was one performance this year that stunned me. It sank its hooks in my heart. Not because it was good. There was nothing good about it. But it was effective and it did its job. It made its intended audience laugh and show their teeth. It was that moment when the person asking to sit in the most respected seat in our country imitated a disabled reporter, someone he outranked in privilege, power, and the capacity to fight back. It kind of broke my heart when I saw it. I still can’t get it out of my head because it wasn’t in a movie. It was real life.
And this instinct to humiliate, when it’s modeled by someone in the public platform, by someone powerful, it filters down into everybody’s life, because it kind of gives permission for other people to do the same thing. Disrespect invites disrespect. Violence incites violence. When the powerful use their position to bully others, we all lose.
This brings me to the press. We need the principled press to hold power to account, to call them on the carpet for every outrage.That’s why our founders enshrined the press and its freedoms in our constitution. So I only ask the famously well-heeled Hollywood Foreign Press and all of us in our community to join me in supporting the committee to protect journalists. Because we’re going to need them going forward. And they’ll need us to safeguard the truth.
You don’t need someone like me to point out who is referenced within these comments without being named. Which I know because He-Who-Was-Not-Named, as dumb as he is, put two and two together and understood Meryl Streep was talking about him. That would be none other than our beloved leader Donald J. Trump, who, in his usual way of reacting to news, responded tactfully after much deliberation and reflection. Taking to the medium of choice for tactful deliberation and reflection—obviously, I am referring to Twitter—DJT had this to say about Streep’s allusion to his person:
Meryl Streep, one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood, doesn’t know me but attacked me last night at the Golden Globes. She is a Hillary flunky who lost big. For the 100th time, I never “mocked” a disabled reporter (I would never do that) but simply showed him “groveling” when he totally changed a 16-year-old story that he had written to make me look bad. Just more very dishonest media!
If you’ve been exposed to Trump’s Tweets, you probably noted they look awfully neat as quoted here. I edited them. You’re welcome. In just a few lines of text, Donald Trump seemingly always manages to give us so much to analyze and discuss. Usually, it’s analysis and discussion trying to figure out what the hell he’s actually talking about, but we do the best with what we are given. Some thoughts of mine:
- “Overrated?” Perhaps. The woman has received an absurd number of award nominations over the years. Still, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better actress over the past few decades than Ms. Streep. Go ahead—name one. I’ll wait. This charge really makes one wonder who, pray tell, Trump actually thinks isn’t overrated. Stacey Dash? Does Sarah Palin count? Help me—I’m legitimately having trouble thinking of famous conservative actresses.
- She doesn’t “know” you? I don’t know, Mr. Trump—I think we’ve seen enough of you over the years to have a pretty good idea of who you are. Unfortunately.
- “She is a Hillary flunky who lost big.” Wait, did she lose big, or did Hillary lose big? Or did she lose big because Hillary lost big? I’m confused. Especially since saying Meryl Streep lost big seems a bit redundant, as I believe we all lost big because you won, Mr. Trump.
- “You never ‘mocked’ a disabled reporter?” Yes, you did. There are animated GIFs to prove it. Even if you weren’t mocking him because of his disability per se, you were still mocking him like a schoolyard bully.
- “Just more very dishonest media!” EXCLAMATION POINTS STRENGTHEN YOUR ARGUMENT!!!!
These five points, as I see them, are indefensible on Donald Trump’s part, with a possible sixth going to a scratching of the head regarding the use of quotation marks on “groveling.” (i.e. Why are they there? Are we simply being pretentious and putting things in quotation marks? Or are you quoting someone? Heck, are you quoting yourself? Are you that narcissistic? Wait—don’t answer that.) As wrong as Trump is here to clap back at Meryl Streep, however, this does not necessarily preclude her from being wrong in her own right. As Streep herself insists, an actor’s only job is to enter the lives of people who are different from us and let you feel what that feels like, and this, I believe, is what gets those who skew more to the right’s dander up. That is, it’s not necessarily a problem that she feels the way she does about multiculturalism or the press or what-have-you, but that she’s using her acceptance speech to get atop her soapbox and talk down to the pro-Trump crowd watching at home. Well, at least that’s how it comes across to these types of viewers anyway. These “limousine liberals” think they’re better than us with their mansions and their jet-setting. Why don’t they just stay in their lane and make movies, and leave the politics for the politicians?
On some level, though, this is a strange attitude to be taking given legacy of the United States of America as a sovereign nation. Streep, in her defense of safe spaces within the media and of the press in general, expressed herself with an air of defiance against Donald Trump and others who would employ an autocratic leadership style. In doing so, she hearkened back to the very rebellious spirit which informed the American Revolution and the formation of this country. See, questioning authority when we believe it merits questioning is in our DNA. Even those of us with a cursory knowledge of U.S. history are probably familiar with one or more reasons for our rejection of colonial rule at the hands of the British. “No taxation without representation,” and whatnot. Of course, one is free to debate whether or not the Revolution itself was justified, especially in light of the colonists’ initial pledge to the crown as the foundation of their relationship, as well as the notion British subjects on the mainland were bearing as steep a price in taxes if not more so. It’s at least worth a discussion. You know, after this post. Right now, we’re talking Trump’s tyranny, not imperial taxes and tariffs.
Meryl Streep’s declaration of independence notwithstanding, is it wrong for celebrities to use award show acceptance speeches as their own personal pulpits? I mean, there’s a time and a place for this kind of proselytism, isn’t there? Here’s the thing, though: for all those who insist there is a time and a place for such discourse, there seem to be few suggestions as to where and when it should occur beyond nowhere and never. Moreover, when a dialog actually is opened up, the prevailing tendency seems to be one of flagging civility on the part of both parties, especially when social media gets involved and the barrier of physical proximity (which, presumably, stunts candor) is removed. With apologies, back to Twitter we go, and a war of words involving two participants who may as well have been chosen using a Random Celebrity Fight Generator. Comedian-actor Billy Eichner—who, if you’ve watched pretty much any episode of his show Billy on the Street, you know Streep is his favorite actress—reacted to her speech in exultation. Or, as he so colorfully put it:
MERYL. F**KING. STREEP. That’s all.
Which is when Meghan McCain, FOX News personality and daughter of Sen. John McCain, saw fit to involve herself. Like this:
This Meryl Streep speech is why Trump won. And if people in Hollywood don’t start recognizing why and how, you will help him get re-elected.
I’ve got more to say on this topic in a bit, so I’ll put this thought of McCain’s aside for now. Let’s stay with the theme of interpersonal drama as a subset of personal politics. Eichner’s laudatory Tweet could have gone unnoticed by Ms. McCain, and certainly, she could’ve let it slide without a reply. Indeed, however, her “lib-tard” radar was a-spinning, and she just had to add in her two cents. Once again, though, Billy Eichner had some colorful words for the senator’s daughter:
Um, she asked him not to make fun of disabled people, and advocated for the freedom of the press and the arts, you f**king moron.
In the words of Ron Burgundy, “That escalated quickly.” Yea, verily, in terms of conflict resolution, Eichner did just about the exact opposite of what you are advised to do in these situations. It’s not terribly surprising, given his personality, but still. So, while I agree with his politics, he could have chosen his words, ahem, more delicately. Meghan McCain wasn’t done yet, however, and expectedly so. I mean, when some calls you a “f**king moron,” you tend to desire a follow-up. She replied:
Calling Republicans like me “f**king morons” is a great way for Hollywood to bridge the cultural divide. Enjoy your bubble.
Sick burn, Meghan! As you might anticipate, I’ve got more to say on this in a bit, too, so regrettably, I will put this on hold as well. Getting back to the drama, McCain essentially answered Eichner’s insult by telling him he’s being divisive. Even though, you know, she basically started this whole confrontation, but you know. In any event, leave it to Billy Eichner to knock down the entire house of cards:
I’d rather live in a bubble than live with people who don’t feel the need to respect the disabled, freedom of speech, and the arts! Oh, and another message from my bubble: can you ask Dad to give back the MILLIONS he’s received from the NRA? Love being told I live in a bubble by the daughter of a millionaire politician who sometimes guest co-hosts Hoda and Kathie Lee. And I have no desire to “bridge the cultural divide” with ignorant cultures with ignorant voters who don’t respect other cultures! MERYL F**KING STREEP!
Meryl f**king Streep, indeed, Billy. Meryl f**king Streep, indeed. With Eichner’s tirade, we jumped from “Let’s not be so divisive” to “Divisive? DIVISIVE? I’ll show you divisive! I’ll stay in my bubble as long as I g-d well please, thank you very much!” This attitude, I believe, present on both sides of the political aisle, speaks to the current state of the United States political landscape and of individuals’ two-headed (or, as some would charge, hypocritical) outlook on this sphere of American life. On one hand, so many of us are quick to point out to “the other”—be they Republicans or Democrats, conservatives or liberals, even religious and atheistic—as being the “dividers” in our nation. Lord knows (sorry, atheists) this was a fervent criticism from the right of our outgoing president throughout his tenure.
On the other hand, while condemning the other side as divisive, we seemingly implicitly want to be divided. (In Billy Eichner’s case, of course, it is explicit. And it involves a lot of use of the word “f**king.”) For example, we love America, but say, as long as those who live in the North stay in the North and those from the South do the same. Concerning the kinds of “bubbles” Billy Eichner and Meghan McCain referenced, there is no doubt this effect, fueled by the proliferation of social media, is real, and you likely have suspected it already based on your own anecdotal observations. A June 2016 study conducted by Walter Quattrociocchi, Antonio Scala and Cass Sunstein found empirical evidence that Facebook users promote their favored narratives and tend to form polarized groups, in doing so mostly assimilating that information which confirms what they know or think they know, and ignoring that which stands to refute what they believe. In other words, the “bubbles” in which we find ourselves are of the sort that we actively create—and to dare to burst someone else’s bubble could end up getting one drenched in a torrent of partisan antipathy the likes of which no umbrella could protect you from.
Heretofore, we’ve talked mainly about divisive rhetoric in political discourse. Unfortunately, accusations of divisiveness go only so far when assessments of the originators of conflict are in the eye of the beholder. Donald Trump is a divider to many because he arouses sentiments of fear, hate and jingoistic pride, encouraging people to classify those who reside in this country as “true Americans” or “not true Americans.” Democratic leaders like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, are seen by others as dividers and out-of-touch elitists who are too concerned with political correctness and preserving the status quo to put Americans first and bring about the kind of change this country needs.
To an extent, both sides may be right, but perhaps a more instructive focus is on a different set of “-ives”—that of inclinations toward the exclusive and the inclusive. These are sweeping generalizations, to be sure, but broadly speaking, on the left side of the political spectrum, and concerning matters of economic and social policy, the emphasis is on inclusivity, whereas on the right, exclusivity is a point of order. With the exclusivity of the right and the far-right, it is not difficult to see how this acts to divide. School choice, as liberal critics would have it, separates communities along socioeconomic lines, and as is often the case, racial lines along with it. Privatization of health care and slashing funding for entitlement programs separates people into groups of, well, those who can afford healthcare, and those who can’t, quite frankly. Shit, people want to see a wall constructed at the Mexican border which would literally separate folks. If there’s a way to dissect the American population on the basis of demographics, conservative Republicans have probably thought of it.
It may be a little trickier to see how the left can be found in the wrong for promoting inclusion, especially if you fancy yourself a liberal/progressive and find yourself a victim of the same echo-chamber-bubble phenomenon detailed earlier. Nonetheless, if you think about it long enough, you can probably come up with some answers, if nothing else, within a devil’s advocate context. For instance, greater inclusion in terms of immigration and acceptance of refugees, per its detractors, invites unnecessary risk and a negative element depending on which groups are attempting to assimilate into the fold. Economically speaking, meanwhile, the push for equality can be seen as a delusion, for not all people are created equal, and is at least the belief, the cream will rise to the top and will earn what they deserve. If children can’t afford to go to school or have significant debt, they need to get a better job or choose a less expensive college or university. About the only time critics of the left uniformly agree that all lives matter is when they are actually saying “All lives matter,” and even then, this phrase obscures the notion that all lives do not matter quite so evenly. Again, however, perhaps that is truly how individuals who see themselves as opponents of the left believe things should work.
Even with these arguments in place—the likes of which I don’t actually believe, mind you—it’s admittedly still a little strange to think of calls for greater inclusion and showing more empathy as divisive. On a related note, two recent criticisms by Hollywood elites I found a bit strange or surprising. No, not Scott Baio or Antonio Sabato, Jr. or that guy from “Duck Dynasty”—actual A-list celebrities. Zoe Saldana, in a recent interview with Agence France-Presse, expressed her belief that she and others in Hollywood were culpable in “bullying” Donald Trump and making him into a sympathetic figure among his supporters. Saldana said the following:
We got cocky and became arrogant and we also became bullies. We were trying to single out a man for all these things he was doing wrong—and that created empathy in a big group of people in America that felt bad for him and that are believing in his promises.
I say this thinking is strange, apart from it revealing that Hollywood is far from a unified front, in that Zoe Saldana is making the case Trump, a noted bully, is himself being bullied. I suppose it’s possible for a bully to be bullied, but this sort of goes back to the origins of the discussion between Billy Eichner and Meghan McCain. McCain defended Trump against the “bullying,” or as some see it, the “fascism” of the left, whereas Eichner rather saucily insisted this was not bullying, but rather standing up for Serge Kovaleski, the disabled reporter referenced by Meryl Streep in her acceptance speech. On this dimension, I tend to agree with Eichner, if not his methods.
The other criticism, if you will, came from Nicole Kidman. Now, I know what you’re thinking: why is an Australian telling Americans how to feel about U.S. politics? Just hold on there, Uncle Sam or Aunt Sally (shut up—I’m trying to be gender-neutral here, OK?). Kidman happens to have dual citizenship, so her opinion is as valid as any of ours. That said, here is her commentary, as told to the BBC, on supporting our new President:
[Trump]’s now elected, and we as a country need to support whoever is president because that’s what the country’s based on. However that happened, he’s there, and let’s go.
I don’t mean to sound unpatriotic, Ms. Kidman, but shouldn’t the President support us if we’re going to support him? That is, if Donald Trump makes his support of us contingent on our support of him—and from what we’ve seen so far in his individual business deals with corporations in supposedly saving jobs from going to Mexico (Trump vastly overestimates his ability in this regard), as well as his political appointees (and what a bunch of winners they are!), that’s exactly what he expects—then we should similarly approach our relationship with President Trump in terms of a transaction. You want me to back you? Show me something first. Jeez, listening to Zoe Saldana and Nicole Kidman talk, people who because of their fame, privilege or wealth stand to be less adversely affected by the damage Trump’s presidency can and probably will do, it’s hard not to feel a little resentful at celebrities. Where’s that Brad Pitt at? I’ve got an angry fist I’d like to shake in his direction!
In all seriousness, rather than focusing on who is making a political statement, I feel more attention should be paid to what is being said and how it is being said. With this in mind, I would argue the way our everyday conversations unfold about politics need to change if we’re truly going to make progress on “bridging the divide,” as so many politicians talk about doing but rarely seem to actually be able to do. Some things which I believe would need to change before we’re ready to have a genuine and productive conversation about improving our country:
Concede that others who support a different political party don’t want to see the country go to shit.
Even when viewing things from across the political aisle, if we stop and think about matters—which would be a deviation from the blathering, blustering political figures shouting at one another to whom and which we are exposed seemingly daily in periodic soundbites and YouTube clips—we stand a better chance of realizing that those individuals across the way most likely want the United States of America to succeed as much as we do. You know, even if we think they’re misguided. Of course, there are those who would insist too many of us liberals aren’t that committed to this nation because we already have one foot in a car or on a plane to Canada or Europe. To that, I would say that we do love America as much as you do. We just might not feel as strong an urge to show it, or wave a flag, or, say, shoot off guns in celebration of our home. But we do. Still, though, despite the notion we probably won’t leave the country, um, don’t push us. After all, this could easily become Canadian Provinces of Joe. Just saying.
When reading others’ comments and posts on websites and social media, consider not saying anything at all.
Especially if you can’t say anything nice. Not every uninformed opinion rendered merits a response. Besides there not being enough time in the day or even the year to address all the garbage people put out in electronic form, too many users are seemingly itching for a war of words, and won’t hesitate to get nasty and/or reduce you to a stereotype. Trolls lurk everywhere in today’s public forums, and feeding them with your own salvo of rhetoric and demeaning epithets only encourages more of the same. This doesn’t mean you can’t read or observe what is being discussed, mind you, but do not engage. I repeat: do not engage.
If you do say something, consider not calling the other person a “f**king moron.”
Even if it might be true. Sorry, Billy Eichner. I like the sentiment, just not the execution. Similarly, you might also want to refrain from the kind of verbiage employed by director Joss Whedon in a recent Tweet, in which he professed his desire to have a rhino “f**k [Paul Ryan] to death with its horn.” Again, I like the sentiment, Joss, just not the execution. Plus, I don’t really need the mental image either, thank you very much. In general, you should refrain from attacks of a personal nature and wishing death or harm on the other person. Say your piece and move on. If the other person won’t, report them. If that doesn’t work, I’m not sure what to tell you, quite frankly. I’m of the belief sites/apps like Facebook and Twitter aren’t doing enough to police their content, most likely because even hate speech generates traffic and therefore revenue, and accordingly, I think these outlets need to be pressured to better safeguard against online abuse. The best I can say is be careful out there, and if push comes to shove, just steer clear of certain media altogether. I mean, if enough people stop using a platform, the company in charge will get the message, right? Of course, that would mean you’d have to stop logging in. You’re on Facebook right now, aren’t you? On that note, I hastily admit defeat.
De-emphasize winning.
I don’t know when exactly the relative merits of political arguments became unimportant, and instead coverage of notable events became a competition between news outlets to produce the most sensational and slanted coverage possible, but especially within the realm of fringe publications and conspiratorially-minded blogs, there is seemingly less accountability these days for sites regarding content, and more emphasis on loaded words that betray a distorting bias. Conservative publications commenting on the confrontation between Donald Trump and CNN reporter Jim Acosta during Trump’s press conference seized on this moment and framed it as the former “laying the hammer down” on the latter or “crushing” him or “eviscerating” him or in someway inflicting serious physical or emotional harm on his questioner, at least metaphorically speaking. Making such an assessment, however, necessitates a viewpoint that supposes Trump was correct in his handling of the situation, and to more objective observers, he was not. This kind of language also depicts the situation in such a way that would have you believe Acosta was left shaking in the fetal position, his pants soaked from urination after having being cowed into not responding. More accurately, Donald Trump made an unfounded charge of Jim Acosta and CNN, and refused to call on the reporter. What supporters of Trump liken to a drubbing was simply a case of our new President being a jerk. I know—shocking, right?
This focus on winning and losing above all else, if nothing else, is just one more aspect of present-day political discourse which acts to separate rather than to bridge the cultural divide. Besides, where there are winners, there are losers, and the winners are OK with their fellow Americans finding misfortune in some way. As is often the case, those losing make up a disproportionately large segment of the total population, and here specifically, the unlucky ones are those who actually try to follow and listen to find meaning through all the bullshit.
Make a better attempt at citing actual news.
Bearing in mind that this is a blog created by an amateur political analyst on WordPress, if we’re going to cite sources in rendering opinions, we should at least point to credible avenues of information. I myself try to link to reputable informational articles and give credit where it is due, even making attributions where images contained on this site are concerned. Granted, you may have your issues with sources that you feel are not trustworthy, notably if you see the mainstream media as biased, if not outright liars. Nevertheless, finding a report on hiddentruths.blogspot.info that suggests Hillary Clinton had a sex change operation in the 1970s or that Joe Biden fathered a secret love child with Madeline Albright isn’t going about the pursuit of content the right way either. Lest I make it seem as though citing sources is something which is easily known and knowable, or that it’s necessarily easy to separate fact from fake news, neither is true, let’s be clear. This aside, the effort should be made to move beyond our individual bubbles, no matter how uncomfortable this may be for us. And even if we have Wi-Fi in said bubbles. Sweet, sweet Wi-Fi.
These suggestions seem to be fairly common-sense in nature, and yet how many of us are guilty of failing to follow one or more? In my personal experience, I’ve been accused of not stepping outside my political comfort zone online by my brother, and have had my aunt tell one of my Facebook friends and former colleagues that maybe we should test out the effectiveness of waterboarding by using it on her, the friend. (Not cool, Aunt Cathy. Not cool.) These matters get emotional for so many of us, myself included. What’s more, we settle into a habit of bickering amongst one another when systemic economic and political dysfunction merits a dialog between individuals of various political affiliations and a unified approach to addressing power disparities. At the hour of Donald Trump’s Inauguration, our nation seems as divided as one can remember in modern times, and yet more fractured than it was when Barack Obama took office. And with that, let me say: sure—we can vilify Trump and Meryl Streep as we may. We can fire angry Tweets at each other. We can even imagine Elizabeth Warren giving Betsy DeVos Indian Burns on her wrists if it makes us happy. Once the fleeting satisfaction is gone, though, the abyss that is the political divide still looms, and we can only wonder how long those on each side can point across at the “other” and embrace division while the chasm widens, threatening to swallow the lot of us whole.
United States of Joe 