Superstars

Celebrities preening as activists or journalists often provoke a sense of profound irritation in me, although I sometimes worry it's more because of a deep-seated jealousy about the attention their opinions inevitably receive. After all, celebrities' thoughts aren't always less informed than a newspaper columnist's, and they are entitled to speak about whatever strikes their fancy.

Then I read about stories like Sean Penn's interview with Raúl Castro and Hugo Chávez, and I think, Nope, it's not pettiness, it's because preening celebrities are a blight upon thought. My favorite passage:

By this time I had come to say to friends in private, "It's true, Chávez may not be a good man. But he may well be a great one."

George Packer's comments are welcome.

Another classic from the vault: by the sheer force of their awesomeness, Aniston and Pitt overcame thousands of years of strife and brought peace to the Middle East. At least, that was the plan.