Amy Goodman interviews actor Mike Farrell (June, 2004)

[ailsagirl]

=snip=

MIKE FARRELL: I'm doing everything that I can. I'm speaking out and condemning this nonsense and condemning the people associated with it and urging the American people to not only know their history but know what's being -- what's being stolen from them by this administration and seeing to it that we change administrations as soon as we can.

AMY GOODMAN: What effect have programs that we see that, the proliferation of the cable news network programs, very fierce, right wing programs like The O'Reilly Factor, Hannity and Colmes. Those shows. You have been on these programs. What effect do they have on the American culture?

MIKE FARRELL: I think there's a terrible dumbing-down of the American consciousness, the drumbeat of ugliness and stupidity and sensationalism, and thoughtlessness and propaganda that is in these stations. I think it's across the border. It's not just in the right wing media. Taken across the board, the dumbing-down that's going on. I worry about it greatly, because I think we have listened to -- loosened connections that people feel toward this country and the values of this country. It's as though they took freedom and liberty and the kinds of concepts that built America and put them on a shelf somewhere and said, "We won them now. As long as they're back there, we can do anything that we want." Forgetting that those have to be living -- living values that we practice on a daily basis rather than just having them on a shelf that we polish periodically.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/06/25/1539209

[Gloria]

1. Excellent observations from a great guy....

eom

[ailsagirl]

3. Yes, he's very active politically but seldom do we hear about

what he's doing. More MSM blackout, I guess. :(

[barbaraann]

2. They cancelled his successful tv show in the middle of the season.

I posted a thread about this a few weeks ago--"Providence" was one of the only things I watched on television. I believe they cancelled it because of his political activities.

Mike's website:
http://www.mikefarrell.org/

[ailsagirl]

4. Oh, you're kidding. That's disgraceful.

But I guess I'm not surprised.

"sigh"

Thanks for the link to his website-- I'll check it out!!

:)

Just checked out his website and was immediately drawn to this wonderful photo of him. Doesn't he just radiate goodness??

[barbaraann]

5. Yes, it does.

:loveya:

[samsingh]

6. very well put

it feels good when someone can clearly articulate the reason for the nagging feelings that the rest of us are having.

[Sokrates]

7. Why?

I really don't care to hear Conyers, Boxer, or any other politician I admire, opine about acting or music. Nor do I care to hear actors and musicians opine about politics.

This is something that bugs me about progressives. Most "famous" artists are self-indulgent and immature. Not exactly the sorts of spokespeople we need.