LJ Idol Presents:

George Bernard Shaw once refuted the Golden Rule ("Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,") by saying, "Not everyone may have the same tastes as you." I didn't agree with much that the magazine did, but they were within their own rights to publish as they wanted. It's their magazine and their message. Why else would they be doing it?

There's a difference, though, between an audience voting with its dollars and overriding the option of public opinion by killing the messenger. That moves beyond "it was offensive" into a tyranny of opinion.

It's something Americans take for granted, but it does happen everywhere. (John Lennon and Marvin Gaye come to mind.) It's not something isolated and separated from us. To speak an opinion is to risk provoking a reaction. Period. We hope it's good, but it may not be. It comes with the territory of the creative. And if you're falling back to something false or milquetoast for safety's sake, then what's the point of you?

Tell the true stories. Do what you really believe. Stand by your art, whether it's monthly satire or Lifetime TV movies or classical opera or haiku or stained glass sculptures.

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