That struck me as odd. "Why should we care what Alicia Silverstone thinks?" I asked. Bear in mind that my exposure to Miss Silverstone at that time was limited to my having seen her in the 1997 Joel Schumacher grenade "Batman and Robin," in which she gave a distinctively underwhelming performance. 

The animal rights nitwit (see above) replied: "Because she's a celebrity!" 

This has to be one of the dumbest arguments ever, but plenty of people do take celebrity endorsements more seriously than they should, be that endorsement for breakfast cereal or politicians. My colleague Mike Miller brings us a great example:

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Mike writes:

What you're about to read is total nonsense, which you've likely already surmised based on my headline.

Hollywood actor (that's key, here) Ben Stiller is damn excited about Kamala Harris's coronation by the Democrat Party as their 2024 presidential candidate. In fact, Stiller is "very excited about moving forward" with Harris and her policies — whatever they might be — because, as the apparently clueless actor said, "it's time for change."

I'd be hard-pressed to come up with a better example of clueless nitwittery from a celebrity.

Honestly, these people are, for the most part, not much good at anything but singing or pretending to be someone else. Why should anyone care what they think?

There are exceptions, of course. We should judge them by their demonstrated intelligence and knowledge, as we would anyone, but the first example to come to mind is Ronald Reagan, who was an actor and a union boss (President of the Screen Actors Guild) before becoming one of, if not the 20th century's most influential president. Charlton Heston and James Woods come to mind, as well, as people who, while famous for other reasons, can at least frame a cogent argument and support it. That, not their celebrity, makes them credible, although I admit that their celebrity allows them to reach a far wider audience than most of us.

There are also those celebrities who keep their opinions to themselves, or, at least, keep their opinions a mystery. I'm reminded of an evening in the early 2000s when I was watching someone conduct a rare interview with Bob Dylan, wherein the interviewer tried to drag America's Songwriter into a political discussion; the talking head mentioned something that then-President George W. Bush had said or done. Dylan replied, with a slight smile, "How do you know I didn't vote for him?"

That's how these things, honestly, should be handled. And when celebrities do offer dimwitted opinions based on nothing more than the gaseous emissions one might find when walking behind the south end of a northbound mule, they should, indeed be called out.

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The problem is, I've seen people on the conservative/libertarian end of things resort to the same celebrity-citing nonsense. There are right-of-center performers, actors, musicians, and so forth who are no better informed than Alicia Silverstone or Ben Stiller. When they speak on politics, policy, or indeed anything, listen to them as you would anyone, from a politician to your liberal brother-in-law at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Consider what they are saying — and whether they can cite facts to back up their arguments. If they can't — dismiss them. As my Old Man was fond of saying, "Never take anyone at their word, no matter who they are. Find out for yourself."

In any discussion — of politics or anything else — it falls on us to be careful as to what sources we cite. Quoting Oprah Winfrey on matters of economics makes about as much sense as quoting Alicia Silverstone on matters of agriculture, that is to say, none at all. Now, were I looking for advice on how to set up a media empire catering to bored housewives and parlay that into a billion-dollar fortune, Oprah may have some valuable insights. And Alicia Silverstone may have some... thoughts... on... well, never mind.

Celebrity alone is not enough to take anyone's word or heed their endorsement on anything, no matter what side they are on. We should rightfully call out the left when they do this — and should exercise caution not to drop into the same trap.