Consider the Source

Well, Mel Gibson is 50 years old today.



Do we have to rehash the old question about whether we should judge an artist's work by his or her personal life? Do we have to wonder again whether we should listen to Richard Wagner's music because he was an antisemite who stole his friends' wives, or whether we should read Forrest Carter's The Education of Little Tree because the author's real name is Asa Carter and he was a white supremacist? Yes, we do.

At the very least, Gibson is a confused and angry man with a few maladaptive habits, such as drinking and driving and shooting his mouth off. Many of his movies, on the other hand, show his genuine talent on camera. (I'm not too sure about his talent off camera.)

Torah teaches us that, in the event that the people of a city turn to idol worship, not only are those people executed, but the city razed down to the ground and the earth salted so nothing can ever grow there again. Any foods, jewels, or utensils used in idol worship were to be likewise destroyed. A rabbi once taught me that this law also applies to the products of sinning men (he meant Elton John, but everyone's got a different idea of sin).

So do we avoid Gibson's movies because he's a sick puppy, or swallow hard and go see them because some of them are pretty good?


Happy birthday, Mel.

Benshlomo says, There's nothing like a nutjob to rock your world.