In stage lighting, there is a rule of thumb among control desks known as "Last Takes Precedence". That is, if a particular dimmer or fixture is given two different commands, whichever command comes chronologically last is the one that will be followed.
In human psychology, this is known as the "Recency Effect", that is, our nature is to remember most prominently the things that happened most recently. This can be summed up in the old party maxim: "No one remembers how you arrive...it's how you leave".
The world would do well to remember these words, as it seems that some of our aging celebrity demographic is losing touch with how they are perceived by the general public and either don't know or don't care that what they do as their careers now wind down could end up defining them to posterity more than the decades of positive accomplishments that led to it.
Case in point, Mr. Charlton Heston. Fifty years a leading, respected Hollywood celebrity...no doubt the chief reason why the NRA decided to make him their central, indeed their ONLY, visible representative to the public at large. That isn't to say that Mr. Heston did not believe the words he was saying, though the age at which he said them should provide at least some rationalization for his eventual extreme behaviour.
Nevertheless, to many of the living generation, that image of the silver-haired old man shouting at the top of his lungs while brandishing a rifle is the first that comes to mind when the name is mentioned. Never mind Ben-Hur or Planet of the Apes, The Ten Commandments and dozens of other (if not always great films) iconic cinematic features. He will now largely be remembered as the confused senior, stuttering and mumbling in an armchair under Michael Moore's incisive and unavoidable questioning.
Several others are on that same road. If Mr. Gibson doesn't shape up fast, the loveable action hero of Lethal Weapon will evaporate completely, replaced by the ultra-Orthodox beard enthusiast with a penchant for drunk driving and ethnic slurs. The less said about Mr. Cruise, the better. Why have the film stars of the 80s all turned into the tabloid humour columns of the 2000s?
In the wide world of sports there is Brett Favre, fresh off his (3rd? 4th? 19th?) retirement, whose Minnesota Vikings are ranked somewhere between "poor" and "joke" in the NFL standings. Again, a great athlete whose final image could very well be that of an old man who hung on just a BIT too long for his own good, much like fifty-year-olds who grow ponytails and pierce their ears in an attempt to be teenagers again. Most teenagers I know don't take arthritis medication.
Then there's politics. In the United States, the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy of the military is finally coming up for review as the unconstitutional bit of injustice that it is. This isn't just a left-leaning initiative, either...military top brass, political leaders from both sides, former generals and a survey of over half a million troops have all come to the same conclusion: How can we ask people to fight and die for their country, but insist that they lie about who they are in the process? You don't need to be an expert in law to see this as unfair.
And for some strange reason, one of their main opponents in this repeal is,,,John McCain. Yes, that John McCain, over twenty years the self-described 'maverick' of Washington, who never committed to any one political party, who was deemed "too progressive" to be the Republican leader, who only ever followed his own ideas of right and wrong. And now, in an uphill battle that Jon Stewart has appropriately compared to the anti-reality mindset of Holy Grail's Black Knight, Senator McCain flatly refuses to give this motion any consideration.
He says the military leadership should be involved...and they come out in favour. Then he says they're not the REAL leadership...which is true, though all of them have commanded troops at one time or another. That's not enough, he says; they should consult with the rank-and-file...so out comes this survey. But only 28% of the surveys were returned...which, as the leaders point out, still represents over 150 thousand people & families.
This hole-in-the-bucket stubbornness, however, will prove more detrimental to the Senator than the bill he is (inexplicably) holding fast against. If he isn't careful, all those decades of being "voice of reason" and "his own person" will evaporate and he will end his career, and life, with the less-encouraging mantle of "senile old homophobe".
Much like the other 'Maverick' mentioned above...I wonder if there's a connection?
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