Won't You Be My Neighbor?

The Freedom of Thought by Eric Power

We seem to have reached a point in our country where you either have the exact same opinion with no variation at all, or you will be excommunicated from the group.  Granted, it's always been that way to some degree, but I think it has really come to a boiling point lately. And what's worse, both sides are guilty of it. I'm specifically thinking of the lambasting of Mark Wahlberg. Now this is a tough one for me to write, since I am taking on some of my own allies
in doing so -- the pro-gun crowd, of which I proudly am a member.  But I have found that changing the opinion of the other side is darn near impossible, only slightly harder than parting the Red Sea.  I could possibly stand a chance in influencing my own side, so here goes.  

I Don't Own Any Marky Mark Underroos. No, Really!

I deny all charges!

What must you think of me??  Defending Wahlberg against my own crew?  I must be a rabid fanboy for Marky Mark, owning all of his Funky Bunch CD's and even a concert t-shirt or two.  I must have every movie he's ever done on VHS, DVD *AND* Blu-Ray, all personally signed by the big guy himself.  Yeah...No.  Not so much.  His music was not at all to my liking; I do think he is a tremendous actor, however. That being said, ironically, I don't care for many of his movies.  There are only a handful of his films that I enjoy, with his latest, Lone Survivor, being my favorite. It's also the one that has drawn him some critical scrutiny recently, due to his beliefs about guns.  He's had many more films that I truly cannot stand, either because the movie itself was not to my taste (i.e. Boogie Nights), it was poorly made (Three Kings), or because he just did not act well in it.  There are, thankfully, only a few of the latter. If you want to torture yourself for an excruciating 91 minutes, then check out the steaming dogpile that was "The Happening", an unholy confluence of terrible movie-making, dreadful storyline, and truly God-awful acting from Wahlberg himself. I believe that forcing someone to watch it may possibly be construed as an act of war. It was bleeding-from-your-eyes-bad; I don't know if I've made that crystal clear enough yet. But I digress! Let's go back even further into Wahlberg's history.  

Mark Wahlberg, This Is Your Life!

Wahlberg grew up tough in a rough section of Boston, MA called Dorchester, gaining attention from the Boston Police multiple times in his youth. He was a drug addict by the time he was 13, as well as a dealer. He was involved in a few racially charged, violent incidents, one of which left a Vietnamese man blinded in one eye as a result of the beating he gave him. After serving time for yet another assault when he was 21, he was released with a new outlook on life.  He had a real turning point while incarcerated, seeing that the life which he carved out for himself was leading to his destruction; a realization that kept him on the right path in his

Wahlberg, with his wife and children

life.  He turned to music and then eventually acting, becoming the well-known celebrity that we all see today.  He credits his good life to God and regularly attends church with his wife and kids. He feels real regret for his deplorable actions in his youthful days and has even expressed a desire to make amends, though he admittedly has not done so yet.

Back To The Present

So what did he say to get all this controversy brewing with the pro-gun people?  Here is what is commonly quoted on most of the websites:

“Certainly, I haven’t used a gun anywhere other than on a movie set and I’d like to see if we could take them all away. It would be a beautiful thing.”

Wow. When you take it in that context, he definitely seems like the typical gun grabber who's eager to trample the ol' 2A to make it happen. However, the full quote paints a slightly different picture:

“Well, I would love it if they could take all the guns away. Unfortunately, you can’t do that so you hope that good people in the world have them to protect the people who can’t protect themselves. Certainly, I haven’t used a gun anywhere other than on a movie set and I’d like to see if we could take them all away. It would be a beautiful thing.”

Perhaps I'm seeing things somewhat differently than most, but it seems like he understands the need for guns while still having a personal dislike for them. In his fantasy world, which he realizes does not exist, the guns would disappear. But he lives in the real world, so he tempers his fantasy with reality. I, too, would love to live in a world where guns were not needed for anything more than target practice and hunting. But we don't! It's a big, bad world filled with lots of big, bad people and I personally like the fact that we have the option of defending ourselves, rather than waiting for the so-called "First Responders" to do the job for us.

So he doesn't like guns -- okey dokey. Now that's what us folks 'round these here parts like to call...an "opinion." Now if his name were say, Dianne Feinstein or Chris Christie...well, that would be a whole 'nother story! See they like to take their "opinion" and make it "reality" by leveraging their political power, thereby changing a lot of people's lives in a real quick hurry, all because they deem it to be "best" for the people to restrict and usurp their God-given, Constitutional rights.  

It's A Little Complicated...But Aren't We All?

Is it a tad bit hypocritical to make his millions while using firearms and violence, the very objects and ideals which he rails against in the real world? Yeah, I think so, especially in light of his rather shady history. Or perhaps, it's BECAUSE of his past that he has those feelings, I don't know.  Is Wahlberg the Hollywood poster boy for gun rights? Hardly. But he's certainly not the worst enemy to gun rights this country has ever seen. He's no Michael "Bowling For Columbine" Moore, who's making films that can sway public opinion with half-truths and outright lies. Last I checked, we still had some freedom of thought in America. At this point that's all it is...I've not seen where he had done anything more than express a dislike. At times he's a bit crass about voicing his opinion. Wahlberg mouthed off to Charlton Heston regarding guns when he met him; quite rudely, in my opinion. But, hey, we also have the freedom to be a snide little putz as well. Conversely, he's also used his winsome words in defense of our soldiers; he seems to be very pro-military. So, there's two sides to every coin, right? 

There are many Hollywood elitists that I absolutely refuse to see their movies, based on nothing more than the fact that they are in them. Sean Penn, who just loves dictators like Hugo Chavez, and even goes on the campaign trail with him, is on my actor blacklist. Likewise for Danny Glover. But many have refused to see Lone Survivor since Wahlberg stars in it, all because of his simple opinion about America and her guns. I think they are missing out, not only on a good movie, but also an important movie (based on a true story) about the sacrifice of our soldiers in the War on Terror. See the trailer I included and go see the movie. You will not regret it, I can almost assure you.


Stand Together

One of America's greatest strengths, in my opinion, is in its diversity of opinion, and, more importantly, its ability to have that diversity. We should be able to live side by side with people of differing thought and still walk away at the end of the day as friends or at least not hating each other. Truly good neighbors will say, "Live and let live', whether they are Conservatives, Moderates, Liberals, or Libertarians. I believe all of these ideologies can live side by side, as long as you mind your business and subscribe to a small government mentality. The Progressives are the ones to beware.

They like BIG government, wield it to control everyone's lives, and have infected both parties. John McCain is a Republican Progressive. So is Speaker of the House, John Boehner. Makes sense; after all, the Progressive movement was launched to national fame by Republican President Theodore Roosevelt.

I have good neighbors; one is a libertarian "gun nut" like myself. The other is a pro-union Democrat from Philly. They're about as different as night and day. I love them both. We can disagree with one another, and still get together for a cheesesteak. So, if I had to choose between the four, I'd take Mark Wahlberg as a neighbor any day over Michael Moore, Dianne Feinstein, or her coven-mate, Nancy Pelosi. My guess is, Mark won't be the neighborhood HOA tyrant.