Viggo Mortensen Puts His Foot in It

[bropous]

http://oregonmag.com/Viggo.htm
http://www.lucianne.com/threads2.asp?artnum=266229

[The above links are to a Larry Elder article outlining Viggo Mortensen's comments, the second to a news commentary page with one or two insightful refutations....]

Well, well, well. What is it with some actors that they cannot see past the inner walls of their own lower intestine when it comes to issues of right and wrong?

Case in Point: Viggo Mortensen's recent interview.

In it, he blames the US for just about every evil in the world, says the United States is the antagonist in the War on Terror, and actually states, regarding Afghanistan, that US acts like the servant of Sauron, totally IGNORING the Orcish horde who kept the women in that nation prisoner for so many years and the improvement in the lives of the average Afghan since the US-supported civil war.

Folks, YES, the United States HAS made mistakes in its history, but in the balance, has done FAR greater good for the average world citizen than the collective efforts of all other nations. When food is scarce, when earthquakes strike, when typhoons wreak havoc, it is the United States that is there first with relief for people in need. AND, when people are oppressed, butchered, repressed, tortured and abused, do they look to the EU flag, or the flag of Australia or Britain or France or New Zealand? Nope. It is the Star Spangled Banner to which they cry for relief. At times, that cry is heard and answered, as it has been in Afghanistan and will be shortly answered in Iraq. I guess some folks won;t care about the lives of others until someone close to them is butchered at the hands of a terrorist.

Of course, this will be the perfect opportunity for the America-haters, lacking in facts and in analytical ability who will simply spew the tired rhetoric of the socialist appeasers of tyrants, that we should turn our backs on the world and just let the Orcs win. Viggo Mortensen, sadly, is of those ranks.

So. Will I boycott the remaining two films, as some are suggesting? Nope. I can put aside an actor's personal opinions and admire his work, and besides, it would take a great and unbearable affront to keep me from seeing the next two films. In our nation, there IS room for difference of opinion, and of course, when some moron like Mortensen starts flapping his gums without facts to back up his mindless drivel, it is the right of those who disagree to point out the logical fallacies.

Do we string him up? Nope. Do we throw him out of the country? Nope. Do we burn down his house and kill his children? No way. But I can guarantee you that aside from Lord of the Rings, I'll not attend another film he is in. That will not hurt his pocketbook in the least, and his career will continue on for a long time, but I'll not add my measly thrity-five cents to his wallet.

The United States as an agent of Sauron? Mortensen, you need to read the book again, bro. Y'ain't getting it.