Here’s our take on the whole thing: in America we have the freedom to criticize or ridicule those in the halls of power, and the conservative side can be as biting and sharp in its denunciations as the progressive left. But generally speaking, good taste reins in those baser impulses, so most folks stop short of making obscene or violent statements or depictions. There is always a market for tasteless art or lowbrow culture. Sadly, sometimes there seems to be a greater demand for it than for art that is uplifting and highminded. It isn’t wrong to remind someone when they forget good taste or fairness. If there is something out there you dislike, don’t support it; and, as Yogi Berra is supposed to have said, “If people don’t want to come, how are you going to stop them?” When the audiences get too small, the show will close. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Good words for all of us to live by.
By John Shaffer America has freedom of the press, which the Supreme Court interprets to mean freedom of expression. But just because someone has the Constitutional right to say or do something does not mean that it always is wise or fitting or proper to say do that thing. For instance, the largely unfunny comedienne Kathy Griffin had herself photographed holding a replica of the bloody, severed head of President Trump. She was fired – not immediately, but within a bit more than 24 hours – from her gig as co-host of CNN’s New Year’s Eve broadcast. For what it’s worth, for the previous two New Year’s Eve events, Ms. Griffin has skated the line of outrageous salaciousness and came close to being released from that job both times. This time, she crossed that line, and Ms. Griffin herself realized that fact herself, making an abject apology and about the most profound mea culpa that a member of the entertainment world has made recently. She even did it sans makeup, looking all the more pathetic for it. Sadly, about 24 hours later she held a press conference, accompanied by legal counsel, and tearfully claimed that President Trump “broke her.” Yes, we all know how CNN eagerly does the bidding of President Trump. It seems in the world of semi-talented entertainers, those who take offense at being ridiculed or insulted or slandered are the villains, and those who did the original insulting are heroes of expression – unless they perceive themselves as slandered or insulted, because anyone who does that to them are wicked folks who can’t take a joke and who are trying to stifle free discourse. Gosh. It seems to us that had Ms. Griffin not held up what appeared to be the severed head of the President, none of this would have happened, so who really is responsible? But Ms. Griffin is not the only “artist” who has chosen to replicate the killing of the President. The production of “Julius Caesar” in the Shakespeare In The Park, as performed in Central Park in New York City has been updated, with a not-even-thinly-disguised Donald Trump, flanked by American and Presidential flags, subjected to the modern equivalent of being stabbed in the Forum on the Ides of March. This provoked adoration from the left and outrage from the traditionalists. It is not even necessary to state what would happen had a theatre group considered mounting a performance in which Hillary Clinton would have been substituted for Julius Caesar – and if they had, it would have immediately been shut down. And, after a decent interval, several of the corporate donors of Shakespeare In The Park actually withdrew their funding from this production. We suppose they will be accused of trying “to break” the arts. The folks who fondly fantasize about the murder of the President probably will object to this “corporate censorship,” although in many cases they are the same people who have promoted boycotts of Chick-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby, and demanded advertisers pull support for Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck and other non-liberal commentators. Apparently only certain opinions are worth having.
Here’s our take on the whole thing: in America we have the freedom to criticize or ridicule those in the halls of power, and the conservative side can be as biting and sharp in its denunciations as the progressive left. But generally speaking, good taste reins in those baser impulses, so most folks stop short of making obscene or violent statements or depictions. There is always a market for tasteless art or lowbrow culture. Sadly, sometimes there seems to be a greater demand for it than for art that is uplifting and highminded. It isn’t wrong to remind someone when they forget good taste or fairness. If there is something out there you dislike, don’t support it; and, as Yogi Berra is supposed to have said, “If people don’t want to come, how are you going to stop them?” When the audiences get too small, the show will close. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Good words for all of us to live by. Comments are closed.
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