Our sonafabitch

Artists and writer and actors. Why is it that they get politics so appallingly wrong all the time? I'm starting to develop a unified theory which says that people whose whole life revolves around the creation of novelties and unbound fictions find real stuff like accounting systems, budgeting and who the President of Burkina Faso is terribly terribly dull and so to 'brighten things up' they intrude fantasies and visions.

'DBC Pierre:
You don't have to travel far to see that political boundaries ill-fit the new world. Never in history have more people been in armed conflict, mostly over territory; seismic shifts among tiny cultural plates. I feel it's not a question of good dictators, but least worst: they're a naturally occurring phenomenon, organic, and having gained power, are often by definition the only ones who will maintain order.
Also, we imagine democracy can be sold off-the-rack, when the history and culture of a place won't yet support it. Take Iraq's implosion after Saddam. One good thing about dictatorships: you know exactly where you stand. Anyway, a purely academic question, as we Anglos traditionally support any dictator who kisses arse.'
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/vox_pop/2007/09/are_dictators_ever_good.html

To get so many things wrong in so small a space, to interpolate complete nonsenses into the mix for good measure is an achievement of note. The flippancy is very very poor judgement- 'One good thing about dictatorships: you know exactly where you stand.' That's disgusting and inaccurate at the same time. '...We support any dictator who kisses arse', apart from the multitudinous counter-examples of course. It used to be that in America, if you were an entertainer that was it- that was your full time job. Now, everybody from Sheryl Crow to George Clooney via Goldie 'moms don't cause wars' Hawn have to flash their political credentials like a little red book. I try not to pay attention, but they keep thrusting their stupid views in my face and its getting a bit tiresome.

My own answer to the question? As Mark Steyn says, the problem with supporting dictators is 'He may be our sonafabitch, but he's a sonafabitch'. Giving succour and support to evil men is never right, at any time in any place. Fighting them is right- even if the cost is high.