POLITICS AND CELEBRITIES
ACTRESS GOES TO PRISON
OCTOBER 10, 2011.
First, before I get to the plight of Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr, I present you the following backgrounder on celebrity actors…
Today, my wife Laura was going through some old videotapes and came across a campaign speech I gave in 1994, when I was running for a Congressional seat in the 29th District of Los Angeles.
The issue was Health Freedom—the right of every citizen to decide how to manage his/her own health, without government interference.
The funny thing was, I was running in the Democratic Primary. That was because I saw it as the only way to unseat the incumbent, Henry Waxman. I decided a Republican or an Independent would have stood no chance in the general election. I think if I were running now, I would do it as an Independent anyway. But that’s another story.
When I was talking about Health Freedom in 1994, Hollywood celebrities were coming into the fray and demanding it, too. Mariel Hemingway, James Earl Jones, Mel Gibson, Lindsay Wagner. A somewhat lesser known (brilliant) actor, Sally Kirkland, was overtly campaigning on my behalf.
I had no idea where these people stood in their politics. Were they Left, were they Right? It didn’t matter. They knew what Health Freedom meant, and they were for it. Out loud.
These days, it doesn’t seem to matter where celebs are on the political spectrum. They’re either unaware of the Health Freedom issue, they don’t care, they’re enamored of the present administration, or they’re scared.
That’s too bad.
There is a growing group of actor-conservatives in LA, and to my knowledge, they’ve taken no strong stand on the Health Freedom issue. Why not?
In a celebrity-driven and celebrity-obsessed culture, you would hope stars would parlay their influence on something that’s as important as breathing.
Just ask any of a number of patients, for example, who have been through the mill with chemo, radiation, and surgery for cancer, and then talk to people who’ve gone to Dr. Stan Burzynski’s cancer clinic in Houston and regained their health. The contrasts are stunning.
When I look at the time period from 1994, when I was running for office, to 2011, I see a weakening of forces for freedom. And in fact, when I recall those heady days of ’94, I realize many people on our side didn’t really have a grasp on what freedom meant, even then.
They somehow believed they were for both “strong government” and “freedom.” Well, holding a contradiction and moving forward with it is one of those common political insanities.
It can occur because people don’t stop and think about what they really stand for. Either they can’t, because they’re not smart enough, or they won’t, because they sense the conclusion will put them on a spot they don’t want to occupy.
This brings me to the plight of Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr…
Today, in the news: Wire services are reporting that Iranian actress, Marzieh Vafamehr, has been convicted of acting in a film, My Tehran for Sale, which explores the political suppression of artists in her country. (Click here. International Business Times: October 10, 2011 3:16 PM EDT: Iranian Actress Marzieh Vafamehr to be Lashed 90 Times, Jailed for One Year)
Her sentence? A year in prison and 90 LASHES.
The press reports are a bit vague, because so far the government in Iran is withholding comment…but let us assume they are substantially correct. And if so:
I’m interested to see how many American actors speak up on her behalf. I’m interested to see whether this will inspire the sudden organizing of famous actors, who make a cause out of her sentence, who use their clout to book themselves on TV talk shows, turn the screws on the government of Iran, and demand Marzieh’s release and the recanting of her conviction and sentencing.
I already smell the fumes of political correctness descending on this whole outrage—as if, somehow, it would be a mistake to take up this cause.
I may be wrong, but let’s see. Does George Clooney care that a fellow actor is about to go to prison and receive a whip on her body 90 times? Does it matter to him, or to Brad Pitt, or to Angelina Jolie, or to Madonna, or to Gary Sinise or Tom Selleck or Ben Stiller or Robert De Niro? Ted Danson?
What do Oprah, Ellen, and Maury think about it?
And in the press? Ann Coulter? Bill O’Reilly? Rachel Maddow? George Will? Chris Matthews?
Will the US Congress mount a statement?
How about the candidates running on the Republican ticket for president?
How about Obama?
The UN?
Various human rights groups around the planet?
What does freedom actually mean to any of these people?
Is there a sense that the rights of a particular individual don’t matter anymore, and instead, all meaningful political solutions have to be viewed within the framework of global machinations? Is there a timidity that emanates from concern that a specific protest carried out (without checking in with political leaders) might upset “delicate negotiations underway on “larger matters?” Do demands on behalf of Marzieh Vafamehr have to emerge from Facebook and Twitter uprisings, in order to qualify as authentic? Does the entertainment industry believe that only through documentaries—launched long after the fact—can a cause be properly couched?
To me, these are all excuses. They are signs that people are running scared, are looking over their shoulders at potential consequences, are calculating which “favored supporters” would be on their side or would be annoyed at them for taking a stand.
It’s fumbling in the dark to ascertain the mood of the moment in high places, as under the reign of thought police. This is what you find in a dictatorship.
“It’s not the right time for a protest on behalf of an Iranian actress.”
“Our leaders are trying to negotiate difficult and murky waters, in order to effect large solutions to complex problems, and we don’t want to unintentionally rock the boat.”
“Declaring ourselves the enemy of something is a harsh position. What we are really looking for is a gradual global shift of focus from competition to cooperation, and we may have to allow certain injustices, for now, to go by the boards.”
More rationalizations.
More weakness and passive deference.
For celebrities,”the way” is now through charity. This is the safe path. This has the blessing of the powers that be. Whereas, to demand freedom for one person who shares the same profession is unsafe, is naked, is without protection. It sounds too much like, well, individual freedom, doesn’t it? And that is the precise problem. That is not the message preferred by those who are assumed to be leaders and power players.
Well, in case you’re vaguely interested, here is my opinion, in terms of priorities. The fate of Marzieh Vafamehr is more important than the iPod, iPhone, iPad, or Pixar.
Jon Rappoport