Posted by
Terry Paulson on Wednesday, March 03, 2010 12:41:19 PM
Roger Ebert, the well known movie critic, has recently returned from his fight with thyroid cancer to use his technologically enabled voice to emerge from four years of silence. What’s the focus of his reviews now? Not just movies. No, Scott Collins reported in the Los Angeles Times that has taken to Twitter to give tea part followers the thumb’s down. He’s been attacking Sarah Palin and other right-wing politicians in between his movie reviews. Over the last few weeks, he’s been giving tea party followers belittling nicknames. Assuring his readers that the movement will quickly fade. As he states, "…a loud movement is not the same as a mass movement."
In the patronizing tones that he was known for as a film critic, he tweets, "I write about the TeePees because it's so sad how they've been manipulated to oppose their own best interests."
Ebert may be the only critic in America who is a household name, but for over half of America, that name is rapidly losing support. I never liked his movie reviews, and I certainly don’t appreciate his political position on the tea party movement.
Critics don’t make a movie successful; people buying tickets is what delivers the results. What pundits and aging film critics say about politics doesn’t win elections; the people do when they cast their votes. People power trumps pundits…and columnists like me. Humbling but true.
God bless Roger Ebert in his fight with cancer. I pray for his health and that he lives long enough to be able to eat his words in November.
As for me, I believe in the power of people and the American Dream. If you want to choose optimism, read my newest book, <a href="http://www.terrypaulson.com/optimism"><em><i>The Optimism Advantage: 50 Simple Truths to Transform Your Attitudes and Actions into Results.</i></em></a>. Tea party followers are exercising their rights and assertively calling for true change and hope. If you want to be more optimistic, read this book available March 22nd!