So Alan Cumming, the fourth most famous export from Scotland (behind haggis, red hair and Groundskeeper Willie) writes at the Huffington Post that America is "comforted by mediocrity."
This coming from someone who -- as Defamer points out -- starred in the Tin Man and Son of the Mask.
Now, a vaguely familiar actor bashing America in the Huffington Post isn't earth shattering. I mean, if I reacted to every post like that, I'd never have time for Pilates, or heroin. But after doing his perfunctory preamble about how great America is - before, of course, trashing it to bits - he also claims that our country "lets its poor die."
Hold on, fella. I mean, I can understand all the Bush-hating, the ragging on the right and other predictable forms of Arianna ingratiation - but saying an entire country kills poor people?
I must have missed this on my shortwave radio.
But maybe Alan got confused. Maybe he meant to say that "America hangs gay people."
No, wait -- that's Iran. But hey: You don't earn brownie points standing up to that place around here.
Anyway, it might help to remind Alan, that America does more for the poor than ANY country in the world - past, present, and most likely, future. I mean, we help the poor to the point that it really hurts (see the housing crisis).
America remains the only place in the world where the line to get in could snake a thousand times around this volatile planet. If America was as evil as our man Alan reports, there would be a line of similar or any length to leave. But there is no such line, similar to the nonexistent one at the box office for "Josie and the Pussy Cats."
I don't know why Alan overlooks the pain and suffering in other horrible places in the world - instead to focus all his energy on the country that greeted him with open arms. I mean, true: America is no Scotland, but maybe that's why he came here.
But maybe Alan's too busy for a nuanced debate. After all, those cartoon cats aren't going to voice themselves.