You say tomato

I’ve always said that if you only paid any attention to those with whom you agree completely, your list of associates would be extremely short. John Lennon cheated on his wife, dropped acid, and claimed that The Beatles were bigger than Jesus. And he was a damned talented musician. Don’t know what I’d call Doug if it weren’t for him. John Travolta – I don’t have it out for the Johns, it’s just a coincidence – is a freaking Scientologist. And Pulp Fiction is a damned good movie. What would I quote when ordering pork if it weren’t for the coffee shop scene? Ayn Rand is an obvious atheist, there are of course some flaws in her philosophy, and she has a really weird and violent outlook on sex. And she’s a damned good writer.

Why is it that we can ignore the political beliefs, religious beliefs, and immoral behaviors of entertainers yet we somehow cast stones at our friends when their idea of “fair” differs from ours? Why is it that we can suck it up and pay $7.50 to go see a movie made by a man who stands for everything that we detest yet we can’t hold our tongues when a friend – and I mean a true friend – supports a political cause that we choose not to rally behind? By true friend, I mean someone who has been your shoulder to cry on. Someone you’ve lifted up during hard times. Someone you’ve laughed with and made grandiose plans with. How can we turn our backs on these people and continue to throw our money and our time at people who stand for everything we loathe in the world?

I wish that we could let that ability to disregard that which we detest could carry over into our personal lives. I wish that we could look at our (fill in the blank) friends with a blind eye, just as we do Hollywood. It’s really a shame that we give more merit to the popularity of the latest movie than we do to actual deep-rooted friendship. I pray that I don’t make a hypocrite out of myself by doing just this. I hope that I’m a bigger person than that.

p.s. Nobody turned their back on me. Nothing happened. I just had an “a-ha” moment while reading The Fountainhead. Carry on!