Days of Change

The Cult of Celebrities

It was not surprising that Donald Trump could not get the caliber of celebrities he wanted for the Republican Convention. It’s a partisan event, and only the country music community is immune from backlash. The more noticeable snub is the lack of any entertainers performing at the Inauguration. This event is national, the celebration of a new presidential administration.

Aside from Trump’s likely extemporaneous address, the country will be entertained by The Rockettes, (who choose to sign up) the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (at least the ones who didn’t resign) and Jackie Evancho, whose parents who put her on stage at 8 years old.

This phenomenon was addressed in a Daily Beast article by MSNBC seat filler Joy-Ann Reid. The premise that Donald Trump is obsessed with power and celebrity has some merit as he spent decades getting his picture taken with all sorts of famous people.

The amusing part of the opinion piece is how Reid praises Hollywood and the entertainment industry for social pioneering of progressive ideas and points out that celebrities are taking a stand against Trump, who is apparently the most evil president in history, at least since the last Republican.

First of all, the entertainment industry is highly resistant to employment laws. Besides keeping out ugly people, certain racial types and hiring the same actors over and over, the industry has successfully blackballed actors and musicians who are not publicly liberal enough. One can imagine that anyone who wanted to perform at the Inaugural would either be harassed by their colleagues or stop getting calls for future work.

Second, the boycott of liberal Hollywood against Trumpism is self-defeating. Choosing not to go to a Trump event is your right. Going on social media and lib-slpaining that Donald Trump is a monster who is going to be the next Hitler is a great way to be remembered by the people who won’t buy tickets to your next movie. If the 46% of people who voted for Trump (or the 52% who didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton) are constantly berated by the people who are supposed to be entertaining them, they’ll find other sources.

In 2014, God’s Not Dead made $60 million in theaters on a shoestring budget. It featured two actors who found work drying up after they became conservative. The alternatives are out there. Unlike Trump’s gold-plated everything, celebrity can tarnish.