Todo el dinero en el mundo no puede comprar la inteligencia.

Does that make me a bigot, too?

First, I didn’t see a lack of respect. I saw Hawk’s analysis of something.
Second, not everyone’s opinion is equal. Does that make somebody who recognizes a bad idea a bigot?

Name-calling is beneath the readers/commenters of this blog.

way to ruin a good discussion.

You are totally out of line. What in my post made you call me a bigot? I don’t think someone has a right to call someone a bigot unless they at least know the person. You are making a fool out of yourself.

And it has importance — one way or the other. On the one hand, you can say its a thoughtful insight into the leaders of subjugated nations. One the other hand, you can say it’s part of the propaganda machine and further evidence of the evil dictatorships. However, that evaluation needs to be done within the context of history, politics, other interviews and a plethora of other information. The interview itself cannot be viewed in a vaccuum. Also, the evaluation probably does not fall neatly on one side or the other (perhaps, though, more closely to one of the dogmatic views, but not black-and-white)

Should it be here? Not so sure … (I missed the emails)

If, however, Nash’s “awareness” made you research it and come to your own conclusions and helped you define your view on it, then I suppose its helpful. There are a whole bunch of angles, so if you want a political discussion, I’m sure there are a bunch of sites for that. For now, however, just agree that Nash highlighted something you may not have known about and may still not care about.

my government has been responsible for some major atrocities that spit in the face of the principles this country was founded on. I have little or no faith in the governement as a result of this hypocrisy. Believe me, America is guilty of enough revisionist history to make my head explode. At the same time though, I hate it when privileged sheltered celebrities engage in their own version of distorting the facts, when they know very well that many people are going to give more weight to their words. Pero lo siento para el sufrimiento de mi país causó su familia.

I tend to judge political regimes by how many people disappear while they are in power. A little simplistic, but hey, it is what it is.

When people hate other people it is a lack of communication or a misunderstanding. For instance, I was laid off from my job. Some would say I have every reason to hate my ex-boss, or even the CEO of the company who signed the order. But I don’t. I also don’t vote according to the economic conditions. I vote based on principles which are long-held and don’t change. I appreciate the viewpoints of people raised in other countries. I had an Iranian-American coworker that had long talks with me because he was intrigued that an American knew so much about his country’s history. I don’t agree with most of his opinions, but it was clear to me why he had them. I worked with a Pakistani who was stunned when I asked him a question about local religious traditions.

I guarantee I know more about other countries than 95% of Americans. I determined long ago to research things so that when I became involved in discussions, I could do so intelligently. Which makes me laugh out loud to myself at the simpleminded foolishness of Matrix’s statement. It is that kind of ignorance which is at the root of much war and suffering in our world.

the USA which outsiders (like me) hate, it’s more like the past adminsitration and the excessive bigotry of many of it’s people. From the outside, it often seems like Americans simply refuse to accept the truth, or any faults of the USA. It’s not like there is no significance of being a WASP now, even though there shouldn’t be any.

the first country to wipe out tribes of nations to get lands for their people.

That never happened before the Americans started expanding West in the 1800s? The French, British, Spanish and Dutch didn’t do that before 1776? The Romans never wiped out tribes of anyone? Alexander the Great? The Russian aristocracy? The Pelopenisian Wars? What about all that “300” stuff that’s so popular now? Who was invading? What about when David, et al., led the Hebrews into the Promised Land that was occupied by the Canaanites? Mongols? The wars to “unify” China? What about the bloodlust of the Maya? I know many Japanese that can’t stand Koreans, and this was the same country that gassed Manchuria. Come on …

I think there’s a strong argument to be made that the deplorable manner in which the Americans treated the native tribes may actually have been the best treatment a conquering nation has ever given to a conquered nation.

See … this is why politics and basketball don’t mix. I can’t help myself.

that while this all true (I should know, living in a country which was a soviet satellite state), there are many dirty things in a democracy which are never spoken or publicized. there is still book censiorship, and also, most (repeat MOST) Americans make way too much fuss about worthless things out of bigotry (like in the case of Josh Howard smoking pot – so what? let him do it, if he wants to, it’s not like he commited some crime while under the influence of the green). Also: how about Guantanamo? And there is an abundance of things which I have not highlighted. This is not blak and white, it’s either gray (western perspective) or striped colorful (eastern perspective)

When he wasn’t pitching, his mouth was sure busy spouting his beliefs.

I would rather hear your opinion and the thoughts of others here than someone on a pedestal.

for giving these guys a soap box and asking the questions and publishing the….oh, wait… :)

does his and most of the other celebs have to have LIBERAL opinions? Are John Wayne and Ronald Reagan really REALLY dead?

It’s almost impossible to believe that at one time Hollywood was almost entirely conservative.

I was using the “keep your trap shut and just play” as a generic euphemism for athletes remaining neutral on an issue, not necessarily just referring to the act of speaking. I would definitely agree about Magic Johnson and his efforts to bring various franchises to economically challenged neighborhoods as using his influence to make a difference—I never heard about Fatburger, but I know he did that with Starbucks, and you’ll have to decide for yourself if having a new Starbucks in a neighborhood is a positive influence or not. He also speaks out on a number of issues, AIDS and HIV being the most obvious.

MJ had a famous response once when he was asked to speak up about a particular issue, “Republicans buy shoes, too.”—meaning his priority was marketing, not effecting change, which is his right to do.

Lastly, I’m not sure I buy the argument that the mere fact of being better at something than just about everyone else is in and of itself a positive motivator to other people to work hard and shoot for success. Have you read Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers”? Very interesting ideas on how the super-successful are not just hard-working, gifted individuals, but that they benefit from extraordinary luck as well, in regards to opportunities, random meetings, etc. Good stuff.