King Shamus has written a very thoughtful post on just how boring art of any kind can become when it’s made a vehicle for overt propaganda for one Ideology or, even, for one philosophy — and I say that despite the fact that His Majesty quotes me quite favorably in the piece. And he rightfully scolds those who lavish praise on such artists even when they produce mediocre or dreck-filled work.
He uses the band Green Day and comic Jon Stewart as his main examples.
A highlight:
For many people on the Left, Jon Stewart is a comedic genius. He’s also the scourge of evil Rethuglicans. He’s also the voice of a generation. He’s also a total dreamboat.
It’s just too bad he and his buddy Stephen Colbert don’t get the same ratings as “Swamp People”–even when you add the viewers of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report together.But because Jon Stewart is a vociferous liberal who routinely buttresses leftist assumptions, he is covered in accolades far beyond his actual influence or ability.
The mental and emotional gymnastics needed to be a liberal must be exhausting. You have to support undertalented overrated court jesters. You have to laugh at their tired clap-humor. You have to recite their dopey bits at parties as if they were the second coming of Richard Pryor.
And that just covers the television socialists that have to be fawned over. There are many musicians who put their liberal politics well ahead of their songs….
The extended takedown of Green Day that follows is priceless and makes the main point of his post quite forcefully.
What adds to the veracity of KS’s point, is the ending, where he rightfully chastises the Right for their hypocrisy in matters of art, how so many of our critics focus nearly exclusively on the political and moral implications of a work of art over whether or not it works as entertainment. Also, how we, just like the Left, will often endorse a story or film written by a member of Right, even though it’s executed rather badly, just because we agree with that artist’s philosophy [think of those God-awful Left Behind books and movies].
Do take the time to click here and read all of the post by King Shamus.
One Final Word: I think the Right behaves in the way described above for a number of reasons, but the most important reason for it, I believe, is because we all, to varying degrees, have been infected with the virus known as Leftist Thinking. We have allowed ourselves to be brainwashed to think like Leftists. In other words, we now have a tendency to see every aspect of Life as political. This is a perverse way of reasoning worthy of the mental misfits known as Leftists. It is not the way men and women of Reason conduct themselves.
That the Right is behaving this way is another token of The Present Crisis.
