BLOG: "The Only Shame is to Have None"*

*"The only shame is to have none" – Pascal.

Am I the only one who has not watched Clint Eastwood's speech at the Republican National Convention? I agree that the GOP must have drooled at the idea of "Dirty Harry" speaking on their behalf. But while Eastwood has been a hero and villain on screen and off – he is not exactly a Republican, he is more of a Libertarian; father of seven, married or not, pro-choice, an environmentalist – he is a man who cares and deeply.

His talent is evident and needs no resume here  His politics, on the whole, are what you would expect. He makes some memorable and very fine films. The days of being Rowdy on Rawhide are long gone. But the garage has shrunk for him backing his Mustang out.

So my question is simply this? How can anyone laugh at his appearance at the RNC without feeling shame? And disbelief? Shame for a broken idol – alleged to be suffering some sort of age-related dementia, blathering on to room full of true believers and becoming, as it continues, a laughingstock.

Where is the anger and disbelief at how this could have been allowed to happen? Where were the numerous  vettings and safeguards that should have foreseen this coming? Reasoning with a person who is in the throes of this terrible insult to the mind is frustrating and most of the time useless. For any party or any group to be so clueless to the condition of this man's faculties belies exactly how they think. Anything for a buck. Anything for a headline. Anything for laugh????

And we laughed. You did. Some of you. Many of you. The media did. The Internet did. So what does this say about US in general. Do you laugh at your grammy's memory loss? Do you look for the signs of it setting in when you have your own senior moment? The RNC defends this ugly and sad event because Clint Eastwood insisted. Grammy insists on driving the car. Grandpa takes the bus – for days and you call the police.

I am ashamed and I am sad and I am outraged. How dare exploitation of this kind be applauded and worse, used for a laugh. Look in the mirror. Look at the speech. Look at who we have become. But stop laughing.