"Advice" From A Make Believe World

With all the plethora of problems that we are experiencing in America today, people are frustrated and eager for some common-sense solutions which actually take a particular situation in hand and offer some solid conclusions. This writer does not need to spend the reader's time elucidating the many problems facing our society but we can be sure of one thing and that is this: there is always a group of Hollywood celebrities who think they must, of necessity, speak on just about every issue. This is especially so if it is a subject which is controversial and in offering their opinion they will, without fail, get much needed publicity for some failing careers.

It is particularly amazing to me that these "stars" think that just because they have been famous and earned a lot of money, they have the answer for almost every problem. Never mind that what they offer in the way of an answer betrays the fact that they are living on Neptune or in some alternate world. The "alternate world" is probably a more correct description since that is exactly where they have been with their careers. When one is made a "hero" because they read from a script someone else wrote and act out scenarios that are designed to fascinate and entertain the moviegoer while making the actor into a supernatural personality, no wonder they soon get the idea that they are very special people with intellects that match their "famous" stature. They are living their lives in a make believe world where anything can happen and they are always the hero.

There is a good example of how confused and convoluted the thinking of these people happens to be. Let's take gun control. Every time an incident happens with a firearm there will be Hollywood celebrities standing in line to give their wisdom on gun control. They get in a panic mode while expressing their opinions. These people must remember that they don't always have to be in the "performance" role. Of course, they take as simplistic a view of this situation as they take on other issues. They seem unable to think past their comments and get a proper view of the real situation. They should think about this: If firearms were taken out of the hands of the people, the result would be that the law- abiding people would be without their guns but the criminals would still be armed. They don't give a whit about what the law says anyway so they would not turn their guns in. They would also have a ready supply of firearms and ammo available from the criminal elements. The results would be that the good, law-abiding people would be unable to protect themselves but the criminals would have all the guns they would want. They would be able to take over society completely and the good law-abiding people would be helpless.

Thinking about this brings me to this question. As rabid as these people are about gun control, they need to consider what would happen to Hollywood and their personal careers if guns were removed from the public arena, and especially from the movies and video games. Of course, the Second Amendment to our Constitution means nothing to these personalities. It is something to be ignored in order to satisfy their own simplistic opinions. Can't do that! There are numerous thoughts and facts that we could explore concerning the necessity for people to be able to defend themselves but all that is for another article or two. Let's focus on the Hollywood personalities and their simplistic ideas which are suppose to be "the word" because they were stated by a "star" who made millions of dollars playing with guns in a make believe world.

Every time one turns on the television or attends a movie, they are bombarded by previews of movies and video games in which many people are threatened and killed by a firearm usually in the most brutal of ways. These movies are the most violent things one can imagine. Hollywood could not produce a movie today which would have a good human interest subject. The talent is no longer available to produce really great movies without outlandish graphics. That era of Hollywood is gone. The talent just isn't there anymore. Plus, our society has become so corrupted that the people don't want such stories. Give them violence. Everybody loves violence! So, we have people being shot to pieces with weapons that the normal person does not possess and never will. The louder and bigger, the better. The more rounds that can be fired in destroying human life, the more fun it is. Even the video games look real. They don't use stick figures any longer and haven't for many years. But in the last few years the graphics in these games and movies depict humans and animals which look real. The more which are killed and blown to bits, the better the game and more exciting the movie. I don't need to mention the names of these games because most people have bought them for their kids and allow them to play them for hours every day. It keeps the kid occupied and the parents don't have to deal with them.

People learn by example. Young people especially have their brains programmed by what they experience as they are growing up. Some play their games every waking moment. They "kill" hundreds of human-looking graphic people over a period of several hours. Admittedly, most realize that their activities are all imaginary but there are those few who get caught up in these games and they become reality to them. Is it any wonder, then, that we hear of some high school student who takes a gun to school and shoots up the place. They think they are in a video game!! They are just acting out what they have fed themselves for fifteen hours or more a day and which was produced by Hollywood and other sources. It has a very negative effect and results in much grief and sorrow as the byproduct. Just look at a picture in the newspapers of some of the ones who do such a thing and you will find that they look like they just took their finger out of a live electrical circuit. Zonked out! Confused. Dazed. Not normal at all.

Now, lets get back to the "stars" and how guns are used by the movie companies. A movie can't be made without the guns and violent people using them. Now, suppose that their wish of banning guns were to take place. What would happen to their ability to make the millions of dollars? How many movies would be made? The fallacy of their thinking goes something like this: "guns are the main problem in society so to end the violence we must do away with them." But, Hollywood makes very few movies without mayhem and violence committed with guns. So, if guns were eliminated how would they make a living if they are to remain an actor making movies which require guns. Additionally, how hypocritical is it for them to advocate banning guns and then turn right around and make a violent movie in which they employ them to create murder and mayhem?

I have often thought, why should the opinion of a person who has lived their lives in a make-believe world carry any moral or legal authority with it? They speak as though their word should be the "last word" on the issue (no matter what it happens to be) because of who they are and their "famous" personalities. Most of them don't know how to safely use a firearm without a director giving them instructions of what to do in a particular scene. This was recently seen when a "famous" actor pointed a prop gun at someone and killed them accidentally. Somehow, someone had put a live round in the firearm and it resulted in death. He did not know how to properly operate that gun as news reports made clear. There are several rules that safe firearm use requires to be followed....always. They are: Always assume that a gun is loaded. Always check to see if it is. Don't point a gun at anything you don't plan to shoot. Never point a gun at someone else. Full instructions on the proper use of a firearm are a necessity.

So, I challenge Hollywood film makers and video game manufacturers to stop being hypocrites and either cease making the products (films and video games) which promote gun violence or stop attacking the Second Amendment which guarantees the people the right to keep and bear arms. I prefer that they would do both. Back in the 1700's Britain found out what can happen when a populace can protect itself from those who would attack them. America has the largest army in the world in that her citizens are armed. That is one reason other nations have not tried to conquer us. Does the reader think that we would be a free nation today without the populace being armed? I think not. Britain would have had an easy time of dominating the colonies if the colonists had not had an "army" of civilians who were armed. Our founding fathers were wise in that they saw the value of an armed populace. Additionally, people have the ability to protect themselves when threatened by another person if they are armed with the ability to do so. And, we do have the right to protect ourselves and our families and property from violent people and situations. But that's also a subject for another article. Those who want to disarm our people have been giving "Advice" From A Make Believe World far too long.