Is Barbra Streisand a star? Is Bruce Springsteen a star? Is
Sean Penn a star? Are any of the Hollywood players who
endlessly complain about America (and make $20 million per
picture) and say that America is a racist, imperialist
country a star? Ben Stein doesn’t think so. He says that the
men and women who wear the uniform of the United States of
America and fight for our freedom while risking their lives
for $1,500 a month are the real stars. He says the real
stars are the ones who fight fires and fight crime and teach
autistic children for modest wages.
When Ben wrote this in an online essay not too long ago, it
became one of the most widely circulated pieces in the
history of the Internet. Likewise, when Ben said that he had
no idea who Nick and Jessica were and wondered why they got
so much media attention, but that he knew for sure that here
was no harm in Americans wishing each other Merry Christmas
or hanging Christmas wreaths, and that as a Jew, he did not
feel at all offended by the celebration of Christmas, his
column was circulated to millions.
These columns have appeared in The New York Times, on CBS
News, in The American Spectator, and on E! Online. Here, Ben
has compiled them into a book of commentaries that will help
you get your head on straight about what is important in our
world today and what is nonsense. You will feel anger, joy,
and sadness as you read these essays . . . and you are sure
to learn something valuable from all of them.