Kid Rock staying silent over US election
Kid Rock has claimed that celebrities should keep quiet about their political beliefs.
The musician claimed that it would be "irresponsible" for him to publicly back either Barack Obama or John McCain as they fight to become the next US president.
Rock spoke out after stars like Scarlett Johansson and George Clooney voiced their support for Obama's campaign. Sheryl Crow, Christina Aguilera and Ben Affleck have also been vocal about their preferences.
"I think celebrity endorsements hurt politicians," Rock admitted. "As soon as somebody comes out for a politician, especially in Hollywood, when they all go, 'I'm voting for this guy!' - I go, 'That's not who I'm voting for!'
"I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep their mouth shut on politics because at the end of the day, I'm good at writing songs and singing.
"What I'm not educated in is the field of political science. And so for me to be sharing my views and influencing people of who I think they should be voting for - I think would be very irresponsible on my part."
Rock has been a hit worldwide in recent weeks with his latest track 'All Summer Long'.
While I'm not a fan of Kid Rock's (although his duet with Bob Seger "Real Mean Bottle" is great), and while I might have to differ that he's "good at writing songs and singing", I'll have to say I admire him for his views on this subject.
I've railed for years about this very thing, namely that celebs have this built-in soapbox that allows them to influence their fans towards a particular candidate or issue. I'm a firm believer in free speech but I resent the bias they get to have along with their fame, and that it allows them to have an audience that us regular folks could never hope for.
(I can think of at least a hundred people I know, ordinary folks, conservatives and liberals, that have much more common sense than do these entertainers)
A few years ago when the Dixie Chicks said on a London concert stage that they were "ashamed Bush is from Texas" I didn't mind that they had an opinion, only that they chose that particular venue in which to state it. If they'd had the audacity to say the same thing in...oh, Lubbock...then THAT would truly be the "courage of one's convictions".
"Shut up and sing." has been the fan's mantra towards these entertainers lately, so I'm not the only one who feels that way; the fantastic actor Robert Duvall, when asked how he felt about a particular candidate, said actors should just shut up, period.
We don't need jet-setting celebs telling us how to save the world when they're the last ones to practice what they preach. Sheryl Crow made the asinine - no pun intended - statement that we could help stop global warming by using only one square of toilet paper.
We need at least TWO sheets, Ms. Crow: one to do the job, the other to cram in your mouth. Love your music, babe, but c'mon....
I can separate the entertainer from their politics, as long as they don't abuse their fame to tell me something they know very little about.
Anyway, here's Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow singing "Picture".
(the picture I get from people using only one square of TP...)
