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Let's get into it:
In a recent interview with Esquire magazine, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson said he's not into discussing his political views publicly. But for Star Trek actors George Takei and Will Wheaton, Johnson's disinterest in publicly airing his views is cowardly complicity.
"What I have learned through experience is that I need to keep—need, not want—the main thing, and the main thing for me, the thing that in the morning I swing my legs out of bed, and I run toward, is creating. It's art. It's storytelling. I've learned to keep my politics to myself," Johnson told Esquire.
He's not the only one.
Helen Mirren recently said, "Artists are not political animals. We're not politicians. Politicians are politicians. Artists are not politicians."
Sure, Johnson endorsed Biden in 2020, but since then, he's come to the decision that talking politics is just not what he wants to do anymore. And who can blame him?
Well, Takei and Wheaton can. "Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's recent comments to Esquire about wanting to 'keep my politics to myself' have divided fans," Takei said, "with some calling out his silence." In a follow-up post, Takei said "silence is complicity."
Fellow Trek actor Wheaton said "So disappointing to find out he is such a coward."
But here's the thing, if Johnson did speak up and held different views from Takei and Wheaton, which I'm not sure he does, the two of them would heap on fresh abuse, not about his silence but about his differing from them. They would call him cowardly for disagreeing with them.
And Wheaton is perhaps the most cowardly of all. He thinks he's big and brave by speaking out against the nation he calls home. "It's hard to not see our flag as a symbol of violence and racism, and that has been breaking my heart for 50 years," he said in another post.
The real cowardice isn't in focusing on your art and leaving politics out of it but in demanding that everyone around you not only conform to your views but speak out in their favor. There's nothing brave about bashing your own nation. In fact, it's pathetic.
Takei and Wheaton want everyone to spout off against America the same way they do. When Takei says silence is complicity, it's an attempt to shame Johnson into criticizing the nation and the federal administration. He seems to think actors have to be experts on political matters, too.
But it's not necessary. A person can go make art if they want to. When I made art, I cared not one whit for politics. If there was an issue I was worried about, I might go march around about it, but mostly, I just made art. Nothing else was as wonderful as that—still isn't (I mean professionally here, not talking about family).
I don't blame Johnson for not wanting to talk about politics, but I do think Takei and Wheaton exhibit thuggish behavior when they try to goad him into it. Just because they want to spend a bunch of their time complaining about the feds doesn't mean everyone else has to.
Libby