Quickies: Entertainment, Not Politics

     Jennifer Lawrence has returned the talent, vitality, and girl-next-door charm to Hollywood that it once derived from Audrey Hepburn, Meg Ryan, and Sandra Bullock. Her movies Winter’s Bone, Silver Linings Playbook, and of course the X-Men and Hunger Games series have made her the most sought-after actress in the world today.

     That made it particularly sad to learn that she’s vilified both Christians and Republicans:

     Lawrence's comment on Christians came during an exchange about Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis, the conservative Christian who was famously jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on account of her deeply held religious beliefs. Lawrence, a native Kentuckian, described Davis as "the woman who makes me embarrassed I'm from Kentucky" and said that all the crosses carried by her Christian supporters "may as well be pitchforks."

     "Don’t even say her name in this house," Lawrence told the fashion magazine. "All those people holding their crucifixes, which may as well be pitchforks, thinking they’re fighting the good fight. I grew up in Kentucky. I know how they are."

     The star didn't have a much better opinion about the Republicans. Though she said she was actually raised a Republican, she said she can't get behind a political party that's anti-women.

     "I was raised a Republican, but I just can’t imagine supporting a party that doesn’t support women’s basic rights," said Lawrence.

     "It’s 2015 and gay people can get married and we think that we’ve come so far, so, yay! But have we? I don’t want to stay quiet about that stuff," she added.

     Well, she’s a young woman. Though talented, she doesn’t know much, and she comes from an environment where evangelical Christians might be a bit more forward about their convictions than is advisable for good neighbor relations. Along with that, it appears she’s bought into the Democrats’ “war on women” canard. Perhaps she’ll learn better as she continues to mature, though Hollywood tends to discourage stepping out of its left-liberal cocoon.

     But that’s not germane to her acting talent, or the quality of her movies. So it doubly saddened me to see the comment thread in this review of Joy immediately turn into a wrangle about Lawrence’s politics and her opinions about Christianity.

     Ace at AoSHQ once noted that it’s conservatives, not liberals, who are constantly talking politics. Though that’s a natural reaction to our treatment by the media and the political Establishment, it actually impedes our principal objective, which is to remove politics from as many areas of life as possible.

     When entertainers – people whose political opinions are no more valuable than yours or mine and quite probably less so – spout off as Jennifer Lawrence has, it would be better to ignore them. They’re entertainers. In all probability they know less than anyone else whose political or social opinions get any circulation. Would you take stock market tips from John Irving? Would you adopt George Lucas’s exercise routine? If you found yourself in need of child-rearing advice, would you go to Beyonce? If not, why worry about their politics?

     They’re entertainers, folks. They’re not geostrategists, military planners, or candidates for Pope. Just enjoy their movies, their music, and their novels. (But buy and read all of mine first. Twice. And get copies for your relatives, friends, and all your neighbors. Makes a fine Christmas gift!)