Gabriel Garnica
Reaction to Matthew McConaughey's Oscar acceptance speech says it all
By Gabriel Garnica
We all know that God has not been an invited guest at the Oscars, or any left-leaning public event for that matter, for some time now. From the boos He received at the Democratic Convention to the tepid smattering of apologizing applause He received during Matthew McConaughey's inspirational Best Actor acceptance speech, it is clear that the Lord is a four letter word in more ways than one to these folks.
I have not watched the Oscars since my doctor suggested that I stay away from inane, superficial, fawning, hypocritical, and politically biased tripe for the good of my mental and physical health. The tipping point for me may have been 2004, when the Academy honored Leni Riefenstahl, a filmmaker who placed her genius in the service of Hitler's extermination of Jews, the same week the Left was bashing Mel Gibson as anti-Semitic for The Passion of The Christ. We were told by these hypocrites that they were honoring Riefenstahl's genius apart from the fact that she used Jews as extras before they were shipped off to death camps, or that she admitted to being fascinated by Hitler. Just two years earlier, in fact, the Academy presented a Lifetime Achievement Oscar to another genius director, Elia Kazan, whose masterful work included Gentlemen's Agreement, which has been described as ahead of its time in decrying anti-Semitism. Numerous members of the audience sat on their hands in protest to Kazan's honor, simply because of his role in naming Communists at the height of the Cold War.
So, you see, Hollywood and its liberal elite have a history of selective outrage. They are unable to separate Mel Gibson's skill from his film which they detested, or Elia Kazan's skill from his patriotic efforts outside of film, yet they are conveniently able to honor Leni Riefenstahl precisely with the pretext that they were only honoring her genius. They honor someone who glorified a cause which murdered Jews, yet bash someone else for a film they see as anti-Semitic, or for activities contrary to their political agenda despite work decrying anti-Semitism.
Outrage, and praise, from the entertainment industry's liberal elite is about as biased, selective, and hypocritical as anything can be. Ridicule, offense, and even disgust, follow in close proximity in this pathetic reaction parade emanating from people who do more pretending behind the cameras than before them. Is there any wonder that the symbols of these folks are the two-faced masks of drama and comedy?
If this were merely a phenomenon of a clueless cadre of pompous elitists, we could brush this situation off as the price of ignorance. The real tragedy, however, is that these hypocrites have lent a hand in the systematic intellectual dilution of this country and society to the point where most people believe most of the fertilizer they sell as art and history. Thus, the only thing more tragic than the spectacle of an audience more willing to applaud a Nazi than God is a review of the comments and tweets from the hordes of drones who react to the mere mention of the Lord with seismic, nauseated repulsion.
McConaughey's acceptance speech was heartfelt, humble, and appreciative. It oozed with profound messages and warm recognition of family and the power of faith in oneself and others. Its downfall, however, began and ended with its audacity in mentioning a God which millions of us proudly worship, honor, and respect, not to mention recognize as the Source of everything we have or will achieve and obtain in this very temporary, and temporal, bus stop on the way to eternity. This is anathema to a crowd so transfixed in its own importance; so enamored in its selfie adulation; and so myopic in its priorities, that it instinctively reacts to the mere mention of the Lord with sheer disgust, if not insolent and patronizing ridicule.
The same folks who pretend to be bastions of tolerance seethe with intolerance when God is mentioned. The very people who pretend to be judges of hate speech spew that very sort of venom when the Lord is brought up. The self-appointed defenders of the downtrodden suddenly balk when the God many of those very same downtrodden worship enters the conversion. They pretend that God was not important to the Founders whose words they twist. They pretend that God was not important to the very slaves whose suffering and sacrifice they honor with Oscars for Best Picture. They pretend that God is not important to a huge chunk of this nation which once respectfully placed itself under the very same God's Name and Will. Simply put, they make a living out of pretending, on screen and off.
Like fools dancing toward oblivion, admiring themselves on the mirror, these folks pretend that God is nothing more than an annoying pimple on the posterior of society's ignorant, superstitious cousin, religion. They applaud twerking females, cursing rappers, and scantily clad singers dressed in meat with raucous abandon, yet boo, sit on their hands, or barely acknowledge the mention of the Creator of the Universe simply because they do not believe in Him.
By all accounts, Matthew McConaughey is a great actor very deserving of this recognition who, like all of us, has had an imperfect past and a winding path to his present stage in life. His brave acceptance speech has garnered praise and admiration, as well as ridicule in disgust, in a society which makes self the only god that matters, arrogant hypocrisy and ignorance the only language that is understood, and self-photos the only images that are worth worshipping.
© Gabriel Garnica
March 3, 2014
We all know that God has not been an invited guest at the Oscars, or any left-leaning public event for that matter, for some time now. From the boos He received at the Democratic Convention to the tepid smattering of apologizing applause He received during Matthew McConaughey's inspirational Best Actor acceptance speech, it is clear that the Lord is a four letter word in more ways than one to these folks.
I have not watched the Oscars since my doctor suggested that I stay away from inane, superficial, fawning, hypocritical, and politically biased tripe for the good of my mental and physical health. The tipping point for me may have been 2004, when the Academy honored Leni Riefenstahl, a filmmaker who placed her genius in the service of Hitler's extermination of Jews, the same week the Left was bashing Mel Gibson as anti-Semitic for The Passion of The Christ. We were told by these hypocrites that they were honoring Riefenstahl's genius apart from the fact that she used Jews as extras before they were shipped off to death camps, or that she admitted to being fascinated by Hitler. Just two years earlier, in fact, the Academy presented a Lifetime Achievement Oscar to another genius director, Elia Kazan, whose masterful work included Gentlemen's Agreement, which has been described as ahead of its time in decrying anti-Semitism. Numerous members of the audience sat on their hands in protest to Kazan's honor, simply because of his role in naming Communists at the height of the Cold War.
So, you see, Hollywood and its liberal elite have a history of selective outrage. They are unable to separate Mel Gibson's skill from his film which they detested, or Elia Kazan's skill from his patriotic efforts outside of film, yet they are conveniently able to honor Leni Riefenstahl precisely with the pretext that they were only honoring her genius. They honor someone who glorified a cause which murdered Jews, yet bash someone else for a film they see as anti-Semitic, or for activities contrary to their political agenda despite work decrying anti-Semitism.
Outrage, and praise, from the entertainment industry's liberal elite is about as biased, selective, and hypocritical as anything can be. Ridicule, offense, and even disgust, follow in close proximity in this pathetic reaction parade emanating from people who do more pretending behind the cameras than before them. Is there any wonder that the symbols of these folks are the two-faced masks of drama and comedy?
If this were merely a phenomenon of a clueless cadre of pompous elitists, we could brush this situation off as the price of ignorance. The real tragedy, however, is that these hypocrites have lent a hand in the systematic intellectual dilution of this country and society to the point where most people believe most of the fertilizer they sell as art and history. Thus, the only thing more tragic than the spectacle of an audience more willing to applaud a Nazi than God is a review of the comments and tweets from the hordes of drones who react to the mere mention of the Lord with seismic, nauseated repulsion.
McConaughey's acceptance speech was heartfelt, humble, and appreciative. It oozed with profound messages and warm recognition of family and the power of faith in oneself and others. Its downfall, however, began and ended with its audacity in mentioning a God which millions of us proudly worship, honor, and respect, not to mention recognize as the Source of everything we have or will achieve and obtain in this very temporary, and temporal, bus stop on the way to eternity. This is anathema to a crowd so transfixed in its own importance; so enamored in its selfie adulation; and so myopic in its priorities, that it instinctively reacts to the mere mention of the Lord with sheer disgust, if not insolent and patronizing ridicule.
The same folks who pretend to be bastions of tolerance seethe with intolerance when God is mentioned. The very people who pretend to be judges of hate speech spew that very sort of venom when the Lord is brought up. The self-appointed defenders of the downtrodden suddenly balk when the God many of those very same downtrodden worship enters the conversion. They pretend that God was not important to the Founders whose words they twist. They pretend that God was not important to the very slaves whose suffering and sacrifice they honor with Oscars for Best Picture. They pretend that God is not important to a huge chunk of this nation which once respectfully placed itself under the very same God's Name and Will. Simply put, they make a living out of pretending, on screen and off.
Like fools dancing toward oblivion, admiring themselves on the mirror, these folks pretend that God is nothing more than an annoying pimple on the posterior of society's ignorant, superstitious cousin, religion. They applaud twerking females, cursing rappers, and scantily clad singers dressed in meat with raucous abandon, yet boo, sit on their hands, or barely acknowledge the mention of the Creator of the Universe simply because they do not believe in Him.
By all accounts, Matthew McConaughey is a great actor very deserving of this recognition who, like all of us, has had an imperfect past and a winding path to his present stage in life. His brave acceptance speech has garnered praise and admiration, as well as ridicule in disgust, in a society which makes self the only god that matters, arrogant hypocrisy and ignorance the only language that is understood, and self-photos the only images that are worth worshipping.
© Gabriel Garnica
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
