A Response to Charlie Sheen

I saw somewhere on the internet where Charlie Sheen said, “Shame on you,”.

And I thought, “Wha?”

I looked into it further (really, it took like 15 seconds; research using the internet is EASY) and here is what he actually is quoted as having said (see what I did there?):

“By the way, two wars are in an endless state of sorrow. Egypt's about burned to the ground. All you people care about is my bullshit... Pathetic. Shame, shame, shame.”

Wow.

First of all, he’s right. Shame on the press, the public, and us in general for paying his life any attention when weighed against the plight of those in need of freedom. Secondly, I’d like to say, it’s hard to ignore Charlie Sheen.

I grew up with movies about Vietnam. I grew up watching M*A*S*H. A-Team. Red Dawn. Chuck Norris! Van Dam. Us vs. Them. U.S.A. vs. Nazis, Commies, Drug Lords, and Evil Doers in every shape, size, sex, and breast size.

I daresay, we’ve been numbed by it all.

I was in high school for Gulf War 1. I was watching CNN when the second tower was hit. I participated in the evacuation of downtown Houston 30 minutes later.

I smiled and said hello at the National Guard soldier holding an empty M16 at the IAH airport. I muttered a thank you to the money changer in Sydney when he expressed his sincerities while I vacationed in Australia in 2001.

Left and right we all see on the news how life is hard around the world for freedom and democracy. Freedom and democracy. It’s become and increasingly difficult problem to deal with as despots in those countries control how much I pay for gas at the pump. My balls are in there hands. So to speak.

Listen to the radio. Watch the news. Enjoy the fanatics on FOX or the cynics on CNN, you all see the same thing. Death. Mayhem. Oppression. Children dying.

Charlie, I’ve got news for you.

You’ve become a distraction. Many already know you’ve had your issues in the past. By now you’ve become a household name, you are more than just a TV show, you are a force. You might call it Tiger Blood or Adonis DNA; but I call it “Narcissism mixed with confidence.”

So, going forward, when I see your name immediately followed with “found with” or “arrested for” or especially “is looking for another goddess” I’ll probably stop and rubber neck for a few moments, shake my head, and move on.