Gerard Baker, 7/6/20, WSJ-behind paywall

“The rot in America’s cultural institutions was spread for more than half a century by a self-loathing cultural establishment. Now it has matured amid a public malaise induced by 20 years of elite-driven political and economic failure that has undermined faith in the system that made America great.”

“It won’t be enough to reassert America’s great historic virtues. It will require weakening the power of the totalitarians on campus, ensuring fair access for all voices on tech platforms, holding to account the lawless mobs defacing and defaming the nation’s legacy. But it will also require addressing the rot in American capitalism, reining in the power of bloated monopolies, and ensuring that corporations prioritize Americans over their globalist, progressive agendas.””

This country hasn’t passed from great to evil in two decades. America hasn’t failed. But Americans have been failed—misled by inept and deceitful political leaders, deserted by predatory and mercenary corporate chiefs, and, above all, betrayed by a parasitic cultural elite that exploited American freedom to trash the country. It isn’t America’s history that needs to be repudiated. It’s its present.”

“America hasn’t failed. But Americans have been failed – misled by inept and deceitful political leaders, deserted by predatory and mercenary corporate chiefs, and, above all, betrayed by a parasitic cultural elite that exploited American freedom to trash the country. It isn’t America’s history that needs to be repudiated. IT IS THE PRESENT.” (closing emphasis added by me)

my 2 cents:

It is comical and disgusting to see so-called professional athletes who benefited from the USA capitalistic principles to become millionaires, multi-millionaires and those aspiring to be millionaires. These individuals whose income is tied to support of loyal fans whether in ticket sales, shopping purchases, brand affiliation and even more money because of their athletic prowess and public support. Athletes – yes remember that – athletes. Not paid for by X political commentary ranters. No, they are ATHLETES. What do athletes do? Well they ARE SUPPOSED TO BE performing in their sport to the best of their abilities. It is that simple. Public support especially ticket sales and television viewing of sporting events is because the public wants to see these ATHLETES PERFORM to the best of their abilities in their sport. NOWHERE in this transaction has the public stood up demanding athletes do anything else than be athletes.

Everything wrote in the preceding paragraph applies in likeness to movie, television, streaming entertainment, etc.. aka “Hollywood”. Replace ATHLETE for ACTOR and sport with released entertainment product.  Again, we DON’T want to hear or see your political beliefs IF you are going to leverage your celebrity status & salaries into force-feeding the support of the public with your political or philosophical beliefs.  PERIOD.

You are actors and athletes neither which has a prerequisite for the needs of  superior intelligence, excellent discernment skills or the ability to perform accurate critical thinking. So plz, SHUT UP and just DO YOUR JOBS.