Everett, Webb and the Gool 'Ol U-S-of A

I've never really been one to take offense at what celebrities say, nor have I been one to make the argument that what they say doesn't matter since they're "just" celebrities. The way I see it, anyone with the ability to be heard who speaks should be evaluated based upon what he says.

That being the case, the following quote I read from Rupert Everett really upset me.

I'm totally off the States now, the reaction to 9/11 and then George Bush - really, they've got very blobby as a nation.

Now they (the Americans) are whiny victims whose language is entirely taken from two TV shows - Friends and Sex And The City - and there's nothing sexy about them any more. And that kind of semi-blindness about the rest of the world, which was attractive when America was exciting, is really unattractive now."

It seems to me anyone who would say something like that, celebrity or not, is simply blind or wilfully ignorant of what an amazing time it is to be an American. We are in the middle of one of the most interesting and (thus far) civil election cycles we have seen since I can remember elections (I should add that I remember the Bush/Dukakis election when I was in third grade). The race for President is between two people, each of whom has very distinct and worthy ideas and each of whom embodies what is the best of the nation.

A quick look at the VP nominees on either side shows another pool of people who have distinguished themselves, who seem to be smarter than the typical politician and who are bringing issues to the light which have been put on the back burner for too long.

To point out just one, look at Senator Jim Webb. Although he is a USNA graduate (he he, yeah, I know...a dig's a dig, so deal with it) and has said some things in the past about women and other issues I do not agree with, who cannot say that the following statement would have been so far out of the realm of realistic discourse four years ago?

"It is pretty obvious that there are a lot of people, a preponderance of people, who were comfortable with the notion of affirmative action for African Americans, then affirmative action kind of grew into a diversity program for basically all ethnic minorities. I think that's when you started seeing a reaction among people who were less advantaged among white voters...

"The Republicans know how to appeal to this cultural group, the Democrats don't even know they exist, but if you can get the rural whites in this country at the same table as African Americans, it would be good for American politics. I think Barack Obama has the potential to do this.

Rupert Everett is wrong. For the first time in a long time, Americans are looking at our lives, taking stock and evaluating. We are uniting again, we are building and we are moving forward with an eye toward a future where America is again secure, empowered and prosperous...and I, for one, am damn excited to be a part of it.