Posted on 10/29/2004 11:02:12 AM PDT by Wonderama
The Springsteens support Kerry, the Schillings support Bush.
Bruce Springsteen held a free concert for Kerry with 80,000 people in attendance.
Schilling helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first time in 84 years. While being interviewed by Good Morning America, Schilling threw in a last minute political comment. "just tell everyone to vote...and vote for Bush". The look on Charles Gibson's face was worth the price of admission.
Both "celebrities" symbolize their perspective candidates values. Springsteen, a rich, famous musician who spends most of his time ensconced in his own world. Schilling is a rich famous athlete who travels the country eight months a year. Springsteen lives in a world of make believe. He thinks he speaks for the common man, when in fact he has been in this other world of fame for most of his life.
Schilling lives in the world of grit, determination and hard work. Athletes do not get where they are by pure luck, nepotism, trendy fashions. If you don't make the grade, your out. Famous musicians do not deal in this realm, especially one of Sprinsteen's nature. He works in his imagination. Schilling works in his physical environment.
The press and the music industry idolize Sprinsteen because of what he creates. The press and the sports industry idolize Schilling because of what he does. When Springsteen puts out tripe, music critics still fall all over themselves to defend him. No one questions him. He is an icon. If Schilling fails to perform, he's out. He's traded, he's retired.
The only obstacle I can ever remember Sprinsteen really overcoming was his divorce years ago from a supermodel/actress. Sprinsteen had to pay out $50 million dollars to be rid of her so he could be with his true love Patti. Bruce and Patti were photographed by paparrazzi canoodling on a balcony in Europe somewhere while Bruce was on tour. It's quite a love story. Complete with betrayal, sex, money and music. It Jackie Collinesque. But do you relate? I don't. This is soap opera. Sprinsteen doesn't live in the real world, so of course he supports Kerry.
Springsteen doesn't have a problem with a tax increase for himself, because he's guilt ridden anyway. If you make 250,000 a year, your in his league and don't deserve more of your money either. This is the classic liberal mind-set of the Hollywood elite.
Schilling on the other hand has overcome many obstacles, not the least of which is his wife Shonda's fight against melanoma. The Schillings have a foundation to help fight this disease and find a cure. Schilling pitched in the world series this year despite a painful ankle injury. Grit, guts and determination.
Schilling is widely recognized as one of the most community-minded players in baseball, Curt has received virtually every community service award in baseball...in 2001 alone, Curt received the Roberto Clemente Award presented by John Hancock, Denver's Branch Rickey Award, the Hutch Award and the Jim "Catfish" Hunter Humanitarian Award, presented by the North Carolina ALS Association...Schilling wasted little time demonstrating his eagerness to continue the efforts he began in Philadelphia and Phoenix upon his trade to the Red Sox...on the day of his acquisition, he announced plans to make a $500,000 contribution to the Jimmy Fund and plans to continue his countless other charitable endeavors in New England.
In researching this story, I could not find articles listing Springsteen's community involvement, besides the latest push for Kerry. I am not saying the Sprinsteen's are not community oriented, but in all the bios of Bruce, his major accomplishments were always about awards for his music, not his service to others.
Sprinsteen and Schilling epitomize the characteristics of the direction of this country. I will be aligning myself with the character of an athlete, rather than the musings of an artist. The choices are very clear this election season. John Kerry/Bruce Springsteen or George Bush/Curt Schilling. Who people vote for says as much about themselves as it does about the candidates.
Ultimatlly we will be announcing to the world who we are as a people and a nation. Will we be strong determined and giving? If we follow Schilling's lead in supporting Bush, we most certainly show the best of the USA.
The only reason that Kerry is using Springsteen is that he knows people will show to a FREE concert, thus making his crowd look and sound bigger, but let's face it, it is because they get to see Springsteen for free, not because they love Kerry.
I agree that sports is more rigorous, and that sports perforamnce is more objectively measured, but Bruce does things too. Selling out concerts is a measureable form of success in his industry, as are record sales and career longevity. It's not all make believe. A 3 hour concert is a doing thing, not an imagining thing. But granted, sports is more objectively measured in terms of performance.
Shilling is a real big celeb in the ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease) community, even more so now that he drew "K ALS" on the sneaker of his injured ankle, knowing that it would get plenty of camera attention. He's done a lot of things for the ALS orgs in the US.
Springsteen? His idea of charity and good works is to foist his political beliefs upon the rest of us.
Ooops, sorry I didn't post this as a VANITY!!! Forgive me fellow freepers.
Good for Schilling. I place the beginning of the descent into the current sorry state of the Baltimore Orioles franchise to the day they traded Schilling, Pete Harnisch, and Steve Finley to the Astros for Glenn Davis.
Isn't Springsteen part of some 527? Could Kerry have even arranged this concert without co-ordination?
If Kerry is elected, people like Lou Gehrig will get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.
Anyone have a pic of that?
I'm sure they're both good guys and I wouldn't turn down a chance to have a beer with either of them (particularly if they were paying). But I'd take whatever opinions either may have regarding politics with a grain of salt, even if I happened to agree with them.
A New Jersey columnist wrote a great piece a couple of years ago in which he debunked most of the myths about Springsteen. His major complaint about "the Boss" was that Springsteen was a phony; he spent his entire life feeding off the myth that he grew up in a working-class environment in a fading industrial town in New Jersey.
I seem to remember this guy pointing out that Springsteen was a normal kid in a suburban high school, and that his father was an accountant or something like that.
I have always despised Springsteen's music. I used to call him "Brainstrain", because that's what hearing his music did to me.
Now I have good reason to hold him in contempt for his ideology as well as his pretentious, overblown, loud, obnoxious, self-important "music".
I agree with you so much on this point. Personally I would love to leave politics out of everything except politics. What Hollywood doesn't understand however is that by speaking out about their politics views has a consequences. One of those is people who are also famous might not agree with you and say so publicly. Freedom of speech is not only for the left.
I do long for the days of old however when celebrities were more or less cheerleaders for the US as opposed to this vitriolic new breed of critic.
You're not Sonny Fox, are you? (If you don't recognize the name, it doesn't matter.)
I have also spoken with celebs about this issue. They say -- as they do in public -- that it's freedom of speech, etc. But they do admit that their particular freedom in that regard is amplified by celebrity status. I suspect that they see it as a way to remain relevant, but with no great attachment to the process.
For my part, I don't mind celebs speaking out on social issues or on behalf of charities, but I suppose they see (wrongly) politics as an extension of that.
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