Shut up and dance - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin
Lately, as the world of politics has kept dividing us further and further, people have found themselves fed up with it.
Furthermore, people seem to be comfortable in their own echo chambers, listening to those who most accurately reflect their opinions, turning away from those with differing views and, in some cases, inconvenient facts. This has led to many, especially the conservative among us, to shun political views that come from traditionally non-political ecosystems.
One major bee in a lot of bonnets has been the lecturing and grandstanding done at awards shows by celebrities. On one hand, these folks see themselves as privileged and they seek to use their platform to give voice to the voiceless and communicate with their relatively large audiences on issues they feel are important. On the other, it has led to backlash, with people who support the current way of the world rolling their eyes and asking that actors stick to making movies, musicians to shut up and sing and athletes to shut up and play. This isn’t new, necessarily, but it has certainly risen to a high level of prominence in the Donald Trump era.
Just recently, author Arundhati Roy dropped out of the Berlin Film Festival after President Wim Wenders, a film director himself, made comments suggesting that he and his fellow filmmakers should “stay out of politics”. This has come at a time when the nation to our south is so divided that they needed two Super Bowl half-time shows. And, with the Olympics ongoing, some American athletes have found it near-impossible to separate their careers on the playing field, representing the United States of America and the current state of the country.
Not unlike Wenders, Vice-President J.D. Vance said that American athletes are in Italy to play a sport for their country, not to “pop off about politics”. And yet, many feel that they cannot have one without the other, given the current state of things, especially in the U.S.
Now, people may not have their mind changed about supporting or not supporting Donald Trump because someone like Kid Rock or Bad Bunny tells them to or not to, but, on the other hand, these people, be they actors, musicians, athletes or authors, are humans who live in this world too and it’s their right to feel the way they feel about the state of it all.
Because someone opts to (and is talented enough to) pursue a career in the arts or in the world of sports or as a musician who performs for thousands of people every night, that doesn’t mean that they turn in their humanity card at the door when they make that deal. These people are mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, uncles and aunts, grandfathers and grandmothers and, above all, citizens of the world just as anybody else is. Being good at skiing or playing the guitar doesn’t change that and they have just as much of a right to “pop off about politics” as anyone else does.
It’s funny that, in a day and age when most everyone has a voice, be it through social media, YouTube, Twitter, etc., that they’re using those voices to tell others to keep their voices down. Just play basketball - how about that? Imagine using that same logic with anyone else. The next time we receive a letter to the editor with which I don’t agree, I’ll simply respond that they should stick to farming. Shut up and drive truck. Spare us the theatrics and go back to the insurance office.
Sounds stupid, doesn’t it? Sure does.
As we navigate this weird life we’ve all made for ourselves, we’re all in it together, and whether you plow snow or ski down it, your opinion has a place at the table. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.