In the world of self-righteous celebrity know-nothings and Hollywood learjet liberals who have never met a leftwing cause they didn’t collectively embrace with the group-herd instinct, Elton John is a refreshing voice of independent thinking.
Is he liberal? I’m sure he is. But he’s not your typical Hollywood elitist:
Fresh off a gig as Rush Limbaugh’s wedding singer, the British icon performed Thursday in Tel Aviv, despite pressure from pro-Palestinian activists and fellow artists to boycott Israel following the flotilla debacle off the coast of Gaza.
“Shalom, we are so happy to be back here! Ain’t nothing gonna stop us from coming, baby,” John said with a fist in the air.
The piano man then took a swipe at those artists, including Elvis Costello, Santana, the Pixies and Devendra Banhart, who have bailed on concerts in recent weeks.
“Musicians spread love and peace, and bring people together. That’s what we do,” he said. “We don’t cherry-pick our conscience.”
Good for him! Am I saying that because politically I don’t stand opposed to Israel and the Flotilla ambush? Probably…
…and yet…
If the shoe were on the other foot and a known Hollywood conservative sang at Al Gore’s next wedding, as far as I’d be concerned, that would be his perogative. If he wanted to sing for the Palestinian people, that’s his business.
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John recently caused a stir when he played a secret show at Limbaugh’s June 5 wedding. The gay icon caught some flack for the performance, which netted him a reported $1 million paycheck from the radio commentator, who strongly opposes gay marriage and has a history of negative comments about homosexuality.“It betrays either ignorance or self-interest or both, and jeopardizes his admirable record on gay rights,” Aaron Hicklin, Editor-in-Chief of Out, told PopEater at the time.
John’s longtime partner, David Furnish, said the singer was “a little surprised” to get the invitation, but accepted the job after deciding “Life is about building bridges, not walls.”
The singer said Limbaugh and his bride, Kathryn Rogers, “were incredibly gracious and very welcoming and very sweet and very appreciative.”
Is it possible to oppose the redefinition of traditional marriage and not be homophobic? Considering Rush invited an out-of-the-closet gay singer to his wedding, I’d say, “Yes.
Is it possible to oppose the redefinition of traditional marriage, and still be an advocate of gay rights? Yes, it is.
Is it possible to find disagreement with others politically and still treat one another with courtesy, civility, and respect? If Elton John and Rush Limbaugh are an indication, I’d say “yes”.
Is it possible to set aside partisan politics when it comes to arts and entertainment? Yes.
Problems arise, however, when one intentionally mixes the two and uses the one as a springboard platform to launch into the other. If you’re going to do that, don’t be surprised if you experience a backlash and alienate one half of your potential fanbase.
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A former fetus, the “wordsmith from nantucket” was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1968. Adopted at birth, wordsmith grew up a military brat. He achieved his B.A. in English from the University of California, Los Angeles (graduating in the top 97% of his class), where he also competed rings for the UCLA mens gymnastics team. The events of 9/11 woke him from his political slumber and malaise. Currently a personal trainer and gymnastics coach.
The wordsmith has never been to Nantucket.