U.S. Senators Angry With the Amount of Celebrity Participation In Congress

 Recently, many U.S. Senators have grown impatient with the amount of celebrities who have been called to testify at congressional hearings.  When the government was first put in place, only the people who were elected into office had the ultimate say when making important decisions.  There were no celebrities influencing public opinion or bringing light to cases that might not need to be that publicized.  In recent years, however, this has greatly changed.   Julia Roberts, Michael J. Fox, and one member of the 90’s boy band, The Backstreet Boys are a few celebrities who have been present at recent congressional hearings.  It is not that these Senators do not want the cases to be publicized, but they do not believe that many celebrities have the qualifications and knowledge needed to make decisions that will, in turn, effect the entire country.  Some say that celebrities can represent the opinions of the general public.  This however, is not the case.  Celebrities do not have to deal with many of the problems that the average American must face.  Many Senators believe that the celebrities who speak at the congressional hearings are not worried about the well being of the country and it’s citizens.  They feel that celebrities are solely attempting to push their own agendas in order to make themselves more widely known.   

Kumar Goes To The White House

Maybe the most logical (or illogical, depending on the way you look at it) of all celebrities in politics is Indian American actor Kalpen Modi.  Co-staring in the movie, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle is the role for which he is most known.  After establishing his acting career, Modi decided to quit acting for a short time.  While on his break from acting, he was able to get a job as the Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement.  The Office of Public Engagement was created as a means to include as many of the nation’s citizens involved in the government.  Personally, I find this very interesting.  The characters Modi has played in his movies are not very serious whatsoever.  The fact that he can turn off the “silliness” for long enough to have a career doing something as serious as working for the white house.  I think that if more celebrities worked in positions similar to Modi’s, their presence in the government would not be a nuisance.  The presence of celebrities in politics only becomes a nuisance when individuals use their power influence in ways that aren’t directly linked to government positions.   

Rally To Restore Sanity

On October 30, 2010, a rally was held at Washington D.C.’s National Mall.  The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert held the rally.  The primary aim of this rally was to “Restore Sanity” and also to “Keep Fear Alive”.  Colbert and Stewart felt that the voices of the public were not being heard.  They believed that the political voices that we hear now are only those in high positions such as the president and other members of congress.  I find this extremely interesting because this is one of the first times where celebrities aren’t pushing for a candidate of their choice.  It’s good, for once, to see people in positions of some power to be asking people who are not in such positions to use their voice, and not just accept whatever they are given.   It is people thinking for themselves, saying what they believe and not apologizing for it.  In the invitation to the rally, they invite people who usually do not attend these types of gatherings.  They invited the people who are always too busy; the people who have to work, who have to drive their children to soccer practice, or just have other things to do.  Another thing I found interesting about this rally is that they invited people from all political parties.  One of the main aims of the rally was that it was a place where people did not want to argue.  It was a place where the people’s voices that were heard were not necessarily the ones that were the loudest or the strongest, but they were the voices of the average American.  I think that if more rallies such as these were held, or more people had a chance to actively voice their opinion, then there would be a lot less turmoil with the government.