Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

Bogey wants to hear my thoughts on why so many people in the arts and entertainment world are leftists. I have to say I don’t have any first-hand knowledge of any of these folks, so everything I believe is based solely on an attempt to understand their psychology. I have to say, though, that having been involved with a variety of folks over the years, and having done more than my share of counseling, I have some expertise in understanding people. Unfortunately, none of the folks I’ve dealt with have been in that business. So I have to depend on what I hear in interviews or statements.

Having dispensed with the necessary disclaimer, let me just say they’re just a bunch of friggin’ idiots who offer nothing of value!

Whew. Now I feel better.

I don’t really understand the attraction to socialism. This group have been quite happy in the past to show disdain for the Federal Government, yet they expect that same government to be more involved in people’s lives. I know that making it in art and film is rare. Many people struggle for years, even lifetimes, trying to become one of the rich and famous. Perhaps this link to poverty makes them feel that anyone can do it if the government simply helps more.

Yet market forces drive these industries, and the ones who have “made it” want that to continue. If a performer can command seven-figure paychecks for a few weeks of work, it is because someone feels that money is well-spent–an investment. If we were to become a pure socialist or fascist state, everyone would get the same income, and it wouldn’t be seven figures. So why are the people the ones who want to divorce the country from the very system that made them millionaires?

I think there is a little bit of social embarrassment. But that doesn’t answer for those who are still on the lower rungs of the business, and who can be just as strong in their advocacy for socialism.

For visual artists, those who paint and sculpt, there is an urge to get the government involved so they can make a living at what they do. European countries have Ministers of Cultural Affairs (is that not fascist?) who dispense money to artists they deem deserving. In the US, we have the National Endowment for the Arts which does something similar. Art doesn’t pay. So if you want to be an artist, you can either produce something marketable, or try to get the government to buy it. Which is why most “art” you see in government buildings is garbage. Nobody else would buy it.

Maybe the psychology has something to do with the nature of creative work. People in the arts strive to produce something that affects people emotionally. It makes them happy, sad, pensive, angry. You won’t find a more rabid mob under control of a single individual than you see at a rock concert. That emotional link between the performer and his audience can be scary. I remember the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young live album Four-Way Street, when Stephen Stills sits at the piano and plays “49 Reasons” (I believe it was) and eventually goes into a musical rant against the government and politicians. I only experienced it on an album, but he had the entire audience in his hands.

So, maybe they simply live in a world where feelings are everything. Emotion rules. That is the best reason I can come up with. Emotion is the logic of the left. If you don’t do anything good, but feel good about wanting to, then you’ve accomplished something.

Sorry, Bogie. That’s the best I can come up with. Maybe you can post your thoughts. You are the musician and performer in the family!