Should celebrities be involved in politics?

NEWS FACT: Bono, the lead singer of the rock band U2, wants global poverty to be the key issue in the 2008 presidential election. He is pressuring candidates to find wags to help the world's poor.

Bono is not the only celebrity activist who has been in the news. Actor George Clooney testified before the United Nations (UN) Security Council about ending the genocide in Darfur. Cameron Diaz campaigns for environmental causes, and hip-hop promoter Russell Simmons speaks out about war, poverty, and HIV-AIDS.

As the 2008 election approaches, more celebrities are sharing their political preferences with the public. Kelsey Grammer, who starred in the TV hit Frasier, says that he supports Rudy Giuliani for President. Director Steven Spielberg is backing Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, while Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire supports Senator Barack Obama. According to a recent CBS News poll, Americans are divided about entertainers taking sides on political issues.

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What Do You Think?

Should celebrities be involved in politics?

YES

Taylor Palmer, a ninth-grader at the Ursuline School in New Rochelle, New York, says, "Celebrities get too much attention as it is." Nonetheless, she adds, "[They] have a right to their own opinions, and the right to express them" as long as they are sincere.

Avery Reavill, an eighth-grader at Talcott Mountain Academy in Avon, Connecticut, agrees--to a point. "Anyone can be involved in politics," he tells J$. "[But] you really have to know what you're talking about."

Darrell M. West, a political-science professor at Brown University, is co-author of Celebrity Politics. He says that celebrities simply express what the public feels. For instance, "America is hearing more protest [antiwar] music" from such groups as the Dixie Chicks, Green Day, and Linkin Park, he sags, "because many people feel that the country is headed in the wrong direction."

NO

U.S. Senator George Voinovich, a Republican from Ohio, is tired of celebrities testifying at congressional hearings. "We're either serious about the issues or we're running a sideshow," he sags.

Jason Sealy, a 10th-grader at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, agrees that celebrities should stay out of politics. They take advantage of their fame, he tells JS, to =say whatever they want." Few of them have done enough research, he adds, to "back up their political opinions with facts."

Jake Madle, a ninth-grader at Alpena High School in Alpena, Arkansas, worries that voters might listen to celebrities for the wrong reasons. "1 don't think it's fair to let celebrities into politics," he tells .IS. "If people like that certain celebrity, then they will most likely agree with their political views [without thinking them through]."

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