My Vote

Recently the Christmas news cycle was all awash in the Duck Dynasty controversy. It even flared up at work with my boss screaming at people about his opinion on the matter. My opinion might surprise you, I agreed with A&E…to the extent that they have the right to suspend Phil Robertson, I also agree with Phil Robertson that homosexuality is a sin. How can I agree with both? Well, Phil is right, but he is contracted with A&E for their profit and if I went out to say something that was against my company policy, my company would have the right to fire me as well. It isn’t a first amendment right, no one has stopped Phil from saying what he wants to say, but A&E have the right to not promote him.

 

That is my right to. I’m a middle aged Mormon mom in the middle of the country. No one comes looking for my opinion on the latest and greatest news. No one buys my commentary for their paper, but I still believe that I have a say in the way the world works. I vote with my dollars, the few that I have.  So instead of signing petitions against A&E, I will simply go buy something with Duck Dynasty on it, or maybe 3 or 4 things with Duck Dynasty on it.

 

Do I agree that Miley Cyrus should twerk on the MTV awards – ahh…not if it were up to me, but I simply choose to not watch the MTV awards and I will not purchase Miley Cyrus products. I remember when Madonna was the most outrageous personality out there and the crap she did to get noticed…I didn’t buy her stuff either.  Eventually Miley will crash and burn just like Brittany, Lindsay and all the other brats attempting to get noticed from their parents.

 

Recently my Mom asked me to go see Captain Phillips with her, I immediately reminded her that I don’t see Tom Hank’s movies anymore.  Why you may ask am I against Forrest Gump? Well, several years ago my church was very vocal about Proposition 8 in California, which was a pro-marriage amendment to the state constitution. Mr. Hanks was on the opposite side of the issue (OK, no big deal), however, at the time Showtime had a series on called Big Love, which glamorized polygamy.  It so happened that one of the producers for that was Mr. Hanks, who in his anger over Prop 8 decided to “expose” some LDS temple ceremonies on the show. Needless to say I haven’t purchased a Tom Hanks movie since. So when my Mom asked me to go see this movie with her I reminded her of my disdain for Mr. Hanks to which she said, “It’s not about him, it’s just about that Captain”. My response – Isaiah 5:20 “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil..”

 

I feel the same way about Johnny Depp, I will not support with my $14 movie ticket a man who disdains America so much that he has moved to France.  It amazes me that he disdains the very country that has given him the opportunity to earn a fabulous living and continues to support him, even though he says terrible things about it.  That’s right, I have never seen a Pirates of The Carribean movie, even though it is my favorite ride in Disneyland.

 

So there it is, my rant for today. I may be insignificant in the billion dollar entertainment industry, but I can live with myself for not promoting things that are wrong.  And, I think that if enough of us have the courage of our convictions to stand up to the “Entertainment” crowd, we would see a lot more responsible role models coming from Hollywood.