Entertainers took time from giving each other awards to give each other awards at the Grammys on Sunday. I’m surprised they could spare the time from Trump bashing, but they did manage to honor themselves yet again.
It’s nice for celebrities to get some attention.
I do watch the Grammys; they are my annual reminder that I am really out of touch with the latest music. And by listening to it, I reconfirm that I’m not missing much.
To sum up and save you from having to watch this year’s dreadful show: Adele is great, Bruno Mars is solid, most country singers are good, and Lady Gaga is smart.
The rest? Pretty awful.
The Grammys were once again the same self-congratulatory, maudlin fest they have always been. Jay Z has become the moral leader of this Grammy group. A man who shot his brother for stealing his jewelry and was a crack dealer is somehow the conscience of entertainers. He can use the “N-word” throughout his songs, then call Trump an immoral racist and claim the moral high ground.
In the entertainment business, that's called good people skills.
Mostly out of fear and the never-ending quest to be liked, entertainers feel compelled to echo the mindless “inclusiveness” mantra of the left. They intimate at every turn that we need more government to ensure equal outcomes for all, but ironically, they enforce the stratification of "stars" by status. They are all for equality as long as there remains in place a clear caste system of A-list through C-list celebs. Equality is fine; just do not expect Madonna attend the same party as Trisha Yearwood.
It is funny how lefties always view others as greedy but never themselves. They film their movies in Canada or Georgia, where they receive the most tax credits. They ask for — and get — tax loopholes from Democrat politicians. They then ostentatiously display their wealth, living in big homes and flying their private jets to rallies to condemn others’ carbon footprints. Their hypocrisy knows no limits.
Most entertainers remain joined at the hip to Democrats. Madonna and Angelina Jolie remain tight with the Obamas, and will even vacation together.
There’s a form of McCarthyism in today’s entertainment business. As Trump’s inauguration reconfirmed, outed conservatives are few. I think we are down to Stephen Baldwin, Kelsey Grammer, and the remaining Gatlin Brother. There is actually a “Friends of Abe” movement of right-of-center stars in L.A. With 1,500 members who fearfully meet in secret (AA-style), it’s a refuge for conservative entertainers willing to listen to reasoned opposing views.
For an industry reliant on free speech, most Hollywood "elites" are not only intolerant; they also seek to personally destroy anyone whose opinions do not toe the leftist line. Most leaders of these vigilante groups of bullies — including all late-show comics, SNL, Rob Reiner, George Clooney, Ben Affleck, Rosie O’Donnell, etc. — are either constantly angry or asleep.
Celebs rarely part with Dems and flash their libertarian inclinations. Drew Carey has been a strong libertarian, and Tom Selleck and Brad Pitt have stood up for the Second Amendment. Snoop Dogg, too. Snoop boldly came out and backed libertarian Ron Paul for president a while back. Snoop agrees with Ron Paul on a broad range of positions, from the legalization of pot to making marijuana legal. He also likes Paul's immigration policy that, if a bale of pot from Mexico washes up on U.S. shores, it is immediately granted asylum.
It may not be raining libertarianism in the entertainment business, but we can thank Snoop Dogg for a drizzle.
I try not to get my political opinions from musicians as I try not to get my music from politicians. Don’t let the drummer from The Chainsmokers inform your politics or principles.
The morality of the music business was summed up by an old college buddy: There’s a “Highway to Hell,” but only a "Stairway to Heaven," which speaks to the anticipated traffic levels.
Ron Hart, a libertarian op-ed humorist and award-winning author, is a frequent guest on CNN. Contact him at Ron@RonaldHart.com or @RonaldHart on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Trump-era McCarthyism infects entertainment industry