Mission? Impossible: When Celebrities Answered the Call
August 14th 2008 23:39
Believe it or not, there was a time in the not too distant past when celebrities and public figures heard the call to serve their country. It was a time when the Nazi’s were a looming threat and the US Government was searching for a way to fight back. Their answer was to create a new division whose purpose was to conduct covert actions against enemies of the US under the banner of the Office of Strategic Services. What was unique about these early days of covert action in the OSS is that its agents straddled the divide between trained professionals and citizens targeted for their ability to assist US operations. Some of those citizens, it turns out, were well-known names and familiar faces. Hiding in plain sight. At least, until now.
Records due to be released today have named names and thrown open the curtain as to the people in the public eye who were called upon to serve their country and never let on about the pressures of the task before them. Who were they? Well, for starters, Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg. You may not think it was such a stretch for a Supreme Court Justice to be a spy for the government. But who would suspect someone so high profile? It gets even better. Chicago baseball player Moe Berg, TV celebrity chef Julia Childs, the sons of Teddy Roosevelt, the son of Ernest Hemingway, an actor who was in ‘The Godfather’ and even the real-life Godfather himself: high-profile gangster Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano. They were all hand-picked by the OSS to serve their country by conducting covert activity. Surveillance, spying, information gathering, maybe even sabotage. Who knows what they did? We didn’t even know who they were until today.
There’s a lesson in these revelations for all of us. You may read this list and say “Well, it’s interesting, but is it relevant? Don’t we have bigger things to worry about, with the economy and Iraq and Russia and all the rest?” The answer is that this kind of stuff is most definitely relevant. It goes to show what people did to serve their country in the good old days before everyone was a critic and people argued the contrary to the establishment just for the sake of it. When these people who served with the OSS rallied around a united cause to fight back against the scourge of fascism.
Beat THAT Jane Fonda! How do you like THAT Tim Robbins? What do you have to say NOW George Clooney?
Gone are the days when celebrities and people in the public eye would willingly risk it all to serve their country. The ultra-liberal stranglehold over much of the Hollywood set has been hijacked. I make that point because we have to remember that the OSS was set up by Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat. It’s not a matter of “liberal or conservative” or “Republican or Democrat”. Serving when your country asks is a universal issue. It’s a matter of the ultra-liberal set hijacking Hollywood and making it a crime to support the government from an external threat. An ultra-liberal hijacking that indoctrinates the people who enter the Hollywood set that we shouldn’t be protecting ourselves and fighting the forces of oppression and death. That we should understand them instead, acknowledge what brought their grievances towards us and adjust our behaviour accordingly. Well, I’ve seen what the Nazi’s have done. I have understood what the Nazi’s have done. And if anything it only makes me angrier and more resolute to stop the same thing happening over again. There are some things that are beyond the vocal protestations of Hollywood celebrities. Some things that go to the core of human nature. The high-profile figures of the 1930s and 1940s that joined the OSS looked into the heart of the Nazi threat and it spurred them to act. If only we had more like them today.
So why is it important to know the names of the celebrities that stepped up for their country? Because it sets a shining example that the ultra-liberal lamentations of people like Sean Penn and Rosie O’Donnell isn’t the only path for those in the entertainment industry or the sporting world or high-society.
Who knows? This list may inspire today’s celebrity chef, Rachael Ray, to take over where Julia Childs left off. There’s always a spot on the roster at the OSS.
Records due to be released today have named names and thrown open the curtain as to the people in the public eye who were called upon to serve their country and never let on about the pressures of the task before them. Who were they? Well, for starters, Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg. You may not think it was such a stretch for a Supreme Court Justice to be a spy for the government. But who would suspect someone so high profile? It gets even better. Chicago baseball player Moe Berg, TV celebrity chef Julia Childs, the sons of Teddy Roosevelt, the son of Ernest Hemingway, an actor who was in ‘The Godfather’ and even the real-life Godfather himself: high-profile gangster Charles ‘Lucky’ Luciano. They were all hand-picked by the OSS to serve their country by conducting covert activity. Surveillance, spying, information gathering, maybe even sabotage. Who knows what they did? We didn’t even know who they were until today.
There’s a lesson in these revelations for all of us. You may read this list and say “Well, it’s interesting, but is it relevant? Don’t we have bigger things to worry about, with the economy and Iraq and Russia and all the rest?” The answer is that this kind of stuff is most definitely relevant. It goes to show what people did to serve their country in the good old days before everyone was a critic and people argued the contrary to the establishment just for the sake of it. When these people who served with the OSS rallied around a united cause to fight back against the scourge of fascism.
Beat THAT Jane Fonda! How do you like THAT Tim Robbins? What do you have to say NOW George Clooney?
Gone are the days when celebrities and people in the public eye would willingly risk it all to serve their country. The ultra-liberal stranglehold over much of the Hollywood set has been hijacked. I make that point because we have to remember that the OSS was set up by Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat. It’s not a matter of “liberal or conservative” or “Republican or Democrat”. Serving when your country asks is a universal issue. It’s a matter of the ultra-liberal set hijacking Hollywood and making it a crime to support the government from an external threat. An ultra-liberal hijacking that indoctrinates the people who enter the Hollywood set that we shouldn’t be protecting ourselves and fighting the forces of oppression and death. That we should understand them instead, acknowledge what brought their grievances towards us and adjust our behaviour accordingly. Well, I’ve seen what the Nazi’s have done. I have understood what the Nazi’s have done. And if anything it only makes me angrier and more resolute to stop the same thing happening over again. There are some things that are beyond the vocal protestations of Hollywood celebrities. Some things that go to the core of human nature. The high-profile figures of the 1930s and 1940s that joined the OSS looked into the heart of the Nazi threat and it spurred them to act. If only we had more like them today.
So why is it important to know the names of the celebrities that stepped up for their country? Because it sets a shining example that the ultra-liberal lamentations of people like Sean Penn and Rosie O’Donnell isn’t the only path for those in the entertainment industry or the sporting world or high-society.
Who knows? This list may inspire today’s celebrity chef, Rachael Ray, to take over where Julia Childs left off. There’s always a spot on the roster at the OSS.
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