When Clint Eastwood yelled at a chair at the 2012 RNC convention, many people were too uncomfortable/stunned to really pay attention to what he was saying. I mean, the whole bit where he was yelling at the invisible Pres. Obama was what got the attention, but Clint also had some interesting/dovish things to say about war. He was not on-message with the Republican platform, to say the least. Clint has always been a “California Republican” which would make him a “communist” in South Carolina. So, given all of the controversy surrounding Clint’s new film, American Sniper, Clint decided to chime in with his real thoughts about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and violence in general. Some highlights from Clint’s new Daily Beast interview:
Clint is actually anti-war: “I was against going into the war in Iraq since I figured we would probably trip over ourselves in some way. I had a big question when we went into Afghanistan. Did anybody ever study the history of Afghanistan, not only with the British, but the Russians?…Contrary to public opinion, I abhor violence.”
His real political outlook: The Oscar-winning filmmaker has described his own politics as a blend of Milton Friedman and the famously anti-war intellectual Noam Chomsky. He identifies as a libertarian, and supports gay marriage and believes climate change is a problem.
The draft: “I was a child growing up during World War II. That was supposed to be the one to end all wars. And four years later, I was standing at the draft board being drafted during the Korean conflict, and then after that there was Vietnam, and it goes on and on forever…I just wonder…does this ever stop? And no, it doesn’t.”
Sarah Palin isn’t going to like this one bit. She might even have to write another word salad about it. I mean, NOAM CHOMSKY?!!? As for Clint’s general thoughts on violence and war… eh. I mean, I believe that he’s evolved into a more libertarian political outlook. I believe that he would love it if America had a more non-interventionist stance in the world. But I always hate it when actors or directors famous for making really violent films claim that they’ve been secretly against violence of any sort.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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