Known Plaintext

Morgan Freeman, the man with the Voice of Authority, has been using it to great effect in Hollywood. I’m an enormous fan: his acting talents and his stentorian authority are second to none.

He has also parlayed his gifts into speaking with authority on a variety of partisan issues. To the extent he pushes his party’s agenda I have no objection to him: to the extent he demonizes those outside his party as racists and bigots, I object strenuously.

The great difficulty with letting Hollywood actors assume the role of voices of morality is this: so often it turns out their moral code is shockingly at odds with the rest of the world’s.

Great actor — but apparently a thoroughly loathsome human being.