Insight

Off to Iraq with the Hollywood set

By Nathan Solheim
Star Staff Writer
12-22-2002

The story came over the Associated Press wire called “Iraq-Penn.” I opened it thinking it was the latest news on the Iraqi weapons inspections. Because going to war has been thrown on the table by a heavy-handed administration, people my age tend to get interested in things like that. What I saw was a complete abomination of the journalistic process. The story, a mere six paragraphs long, was a clarification about actor Sean Penn’s statements regarding Iraq. Apparently, the Iraqi News Agency misrepresented some of Penn’s statements regarding the nation’s weapons of mass destruction. Apparently, Penn left open the possibility of Iraqi’s having nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. Apparently, the confusion came from a news conference while Penn was on a fact finding mission in Baghdad. If the last paragraph doesn’t strike you as completely absurd, your brain should be canned. I find it appallingly tawdry that an actor whose best known work was as a dope-smoking, sleepy dunce in Fast Times at Ridgemont High lies to himself enough to think he has any diplomatic license in Iraq. The real kicker is the “fact-finding mission” and subsequent press conference. Penn is filled with such a degree of self determined importance that he held a press conference to discuss his findings. Forget that he felt his celebrity status entitled him to interfere with the hottest button of foreign policy initiatives these days. If you believe that we, as a nation, had to know this, then I am Sam. Recently, I was listening to WDNG and heard the CBS announcer on the hourly broadcast. He went through approximately 18 seconds of news before he got to this story: More than 100 Hollywood actors sent a letter to President Bush today urging him to avoid war at all costs in Iraq. If I recall correctly, Martin Sheen only plays the president on television. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why any American citizen should give a rip snort about the opinions of people whose only connection to the real world is when they portray it on television. The horror. Just because they won an Oscar, had a hit television show, or sang peppy songs doesn’t mean they matter. Come on, I thought we were all journalists here.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]