Arbiters

“Don’t tell me what to do!” 

may be one of the most oft stated comments in human history.

No one wants someone else telling them what to do.

Most of us recoil when another person who has no authority, no experience, or no knowledge of a subject tries to tell us what to do. Can someone else have an opinion of viewpoint different than my own? Why, of course. But another’s person’s viewpoint does not become my authority when I make personal choices.

They do not tell me what to do.

This summer I was forced to consider that someone else might tell me what to do when it came to the 2012 election.

NBC New York reported  that Sarah Jessica Parker and other Hollywood actors threw fundraisers for Mr. Obama.

The article referred to the event as a “star studded cash bash.”

Among Manhattan’s elite entertainers were Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey, and Alicia Keys. As I read the report, what struck me most was what Obama told his supporters. He said Hollywood would play a crucial role in the 2012 election. He went on to say that the nation’s future would be determined by a vision cast by Hollywood personalities.

As I think about the kind of entertainment we see at Redbox or Netflix, I can certainly understand how Hollywood contributes to the vision of a nation. I have no doubt that Hollywood stars vote. I also have no doubt that Hollywood continues to influence the culture as a whole by the movies and music they perform. What stood out to me in the report was that somehow Hollywood would shape America’s future. If America ingests entertainment without thought, Hollywood may well make an impact on American direction.

As my mind processed the direction of a country, the next line from NBC New York, startled me.

Mr. Obama stated to entertainers attending the glitzy fundraiser,

“You’re the tie-breaker. You are the ultimate arbiter of which direction this country goes.”

You are the ultimate arbiter. That phrase has bothered me since it was uttered in June, 2012. Mr. Obama is saying that folks from Tinseltown to Broadway will decide the 2012 election. The definition of “arbiter” means someone with the power to decide a dispute. In fact The Merriam-Webster Dictionary says an arbiter is “a person or agency whose judgment or opinion is considered authoritative.”

Will Hollywood celebrities, the so-called ultimate arbiters, sway my vote? I don’t think so.

Like most everyone else, I enjoy some of the movies made in Hollywood.

And like everyone else, I do not enjoy someone else telling me what to do.

The final arbiters of the November election will not be Hollywood stars. Final arbitration for the 2012 elections will take place in the voting booth.

Mark is interested in honest debate, honest assumptions, and honest disclosure of assumptions in debate.  Dr. Eckel’s students know this full well when they hear him teach at Crossroads Bible College.