By Joseph J. Bucci ——Bio and Archives--July 12, 2024
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Everyone has an opinion. A friend of mine once crudely said, “Opinions are like rear ends – everyone has one, and they smell!” His language was a little more colorful in how he said it, but you get the idea.
In America, you are allowed to have an opinion. Our First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedoms concerning religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. This is one of our fundamental rights, although it is not absolute. Justice Holmes wrote in the case of Schenck v. United States (1919) that, “the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic” (Holmes, 1919).
Everyone has an opinion; and because we have this constitutional right of expression, everyone wants to share their opinion. There are certain people on TV who share their opinion all the time. Some of them are called newscasters.
Some people, due to their experience or education, are paid to give their opinion. I have had that opportunity at times. But when I’m at home, my opinion is just as good as anyone else’s. I like to say it this way: When I’m at work or on TV, I am paid to be good. When I’m at home, I’m good for nothing. My opinion is the same as anyone else’s, whether they write editorials for the NY Times or simply voice it to whomever will listen.
There are people who are paid to pretend to be other people. They are asked at times to be role models or to be guests at different events. They are famous because they have done such a good job pretending to be someone else that they were recognized for this achievement. Like someone who hits a baseball farther than anyone else; or someone who designs a machine that works in a unique way, these folks have honed their craft and distinguished themselves by pretending to be someone else. I think this is great, and they deserve this recognition for their efforts.
However, when these pretenders are out of costume, when they are just “plain ol’ Joes and Janes,” their opinions are as valid as anyone else’s. If I have no knowledge or experience in flying to the Moon, why would anyone listen to me talk about space travel? It is the same with the “pretenders.” Why would I listen to their views about anything, if they have no experience or education in a matter? They are just the same as I am – they have an opinion, and a right to express it. And so do I.
It is so funny to me when people whose job it is to pretend to be other people suddenly decide that they can help me make an informed decision about a political situation because of their opinion. Unless they are able to substantiate that they have greater knowledge than other people, I don’t know why I would listen to them over a former president or congressman or ambassador. I am not even sure that I would listen to them tell me how to raise my kids or do my job, unless they have demonstrated knowledge or experience which gives them some level of credibility.
This is also why there seems to be a great irony in the response of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to the Will Smith public display of anger over a joke made about his wife (Sudhakar, 2022). The Academy decided to levy a judgment against Smith, blocking him from attending the awards ceremony for 10 years after Smith walked unprompted up onto stage and slapped the man mocking his wife.
Here's the irony. The Academy honored Smith and rewarded him for pretending to be someone, but they objected to Smith actually being himself. People are awarded for playing a character and pretending to live as someone else, but then at times when someone acts as themselves it has to be within the confines of what is socially appropriate.
There is really no justification for the response that Will Smith had to the joke by Chris Rock about Smith’s wife Jada (Sudhakar, 2022). She has an auto-immune condition called alopecia, a medical condition which causes hair loss, and so her hair needs to be kept short. This is well-known in Hollywood circles, and some jokes have been made about this in the past. There's also no justification for the active hurting or lashing out at someone else because you are not happy with what they said, regardless whether it was a good joke or poor one (Sudhakar, 2022). As Justice Holmes wrote, you can have an opinion, but you cannot cause harm because of it.
It seems paradoxical that the award Smith received for his pretending to be someone else was maintained, but a response to not acting was condemned. The award for acting was recognition and applause, the award for not acting was condemnation and judgment.
According to Cal Thomas and others, some members of the audience came to Smith during the commercial break to pray with him (Thomas, 2022). The Bible says you can be angry, but don't sin (Ephesians 4:26, ESV). Smith's anxiety could have been because he was up for a significant career recognition. He was one of a few people at the apex of his craft after years of labor, and in that moment he responded inappropriately.
It didn't go well for Will Smith before receiving his Academy award, but at least he got to keep the award for pretending to be someone else. His award for being himself is to live with the consequences of his action. Cal Thomas suggested that there is now more opportunity to draw him in and not to push him away (Thomas, 2022). In my opinion, there is always plenty of opportunity for us to judge others, without always knowing what is happening behind the scenes of their lives. We need to make an effort and look hard to find opportunities for redemption.
Meanwhile, Will Smith seems to be doing quite well pretending to be a cop in the latest instalment of the “Bad Boys” series of films, according to one writer (Rottenberg, 2024). In the writer’s opinion, Smith has rebounded well pretending to be someone else, since his public shortcomings were on display when he was being himself. Perhaps there is a lesson in there for those professional pretenders trying publicly to be political spokespeople. In my opinion, you should stick with what you know.
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Joseph J. Bucci has served as a Pastor, Author, HR Director, Director of Training, Professor and Consultant. He teaches in the College of Arts and Sciences at Regent University in Virginia Beach. He has written two books and numerous articles on the theme of integrating faith with life and our work. You can contact Dr. Bucci at: Joseph J Bucci