Some of the most outspoken critics of the war and the Bush administration hail from Hollywood.  Celebrities have been front and center in the anti-war camp since before the first deployment of American troops.   During the past four years of war, movie stars. Television actors and recording artists have become more and more vocal in the opposition to the war.   As the media has increasingly turned against the war and has dedicated more valuable airtime to protesters and demonstrations, outspoken celebrities have claimed the anti-war spotlight and refuse to give it up. 

One of the most vocal of these anti-war Hollywood pundits has been San Penn.  The Oscar winning actor has been a committed critic of the war and the President for years. He even traveled to Baghdad before the start of the war.  Mr. Penn recently led a town hall meeting in Oakland, California that was heavily critical of the President and his handling of the Iraq war.  During the meeting, Mr. Penn said “Let’s make this crystal clear: We do support our troops, but not the exploitation of them and their families.” 

Mr. Penn’s claim that the Bush administration is exploiting the members of our military and their families is not only insulting to those who serve our country, but it is also the height of hypocrisy.  Mr. Penn wasted no time in claiming that the government was exploiting our troops by deploying them to Iraq.  One can only assume his statement came from a belief that the government is using out troops to further political interest in Iraq.  However, Mr. Penn’s argument less of a criticism of the deployment of our troops than it is an indictment of his own callous attitude to those who serve this country.  

Mr. Penn was too quick to claim hat our troops are being exploited.  His thoughtless statement serves only to show his willingness to exploit our service member and their families to further his own political agenda.  Far from truly supporting our troops, Mr. Penn would prefer to use them and their families as pawns in his crusade against President Bush and the Iraq War.   If Mr. Penn and his Hollywood friends truly wanted to support our troops they would stop using them.  It is one thing to speak out against the war.  That is every American’s right.  However, it is quite another thing to take the selfless commitment and sacrifice of those who have volunteered to serve this country and use it to denigrate the policies of the government.