Kristen Stewart said what??? I can't believe it... and you shouldn't either.

Bear with me.  Read all of this...

First,
1) I am a military veteran.
2) My family is full of military veterans.
3) I have a son currently serving in the Marines.
4) I love the military.

Next,
A) I'm not a Kristen Stewart fan.
B) I don't think she is a very good actress.
C) I disagree with her having an affair.
D) I only liked the fight scenes in Twilight.

Now that we have that established my baseline for this article, let's get to the crux of this post.  There is a Facebook article circulating with a headline reading this. "IDIOT: Kristen Stewart Trashes the Military And Defends 9/11 Terrorists."

This article is an example of many like it you will see floating around the Interweb - especially Facebook.  I caution everyone before they share these articles, comment on them, or "like" them and here is why.

90% of these types of articles are complete crap.  Their only intention is to rile your emotions and get you to share or comment on the article so it can drum up "visits" to their blog or website.    The hacks that call themselves journalists have no regard for proper journalistic etiquette or publishing the truth.  They only want site visits to drive revenue for the ads.  And unfortunately I see these types of articles bleeding over into what once was more prestigious news sources.  Their second most absurd tactic is that they know most people won't read their article (much less the original) and will only respond based on the title.

Case in point on this article.  If you dig deep enough into the trash being thrown, you'll find that the original quoted source is an interview done of Kristen (The full interview can be found at the Daily Beast.) about her new movie, Camp X-Ray (which I haven't seen and know only what I've read).  The movie is about a girl who joins the Army and is a guard at Guantanamo Bay.

Here is my problem with what is being done with these 'hate' articles (as I call them).  Kristen is describing her character when she says, "she's not very smart..."  She is not describing the military in general.  Her character is looking for an identity and thinks she'll find it in the Army.  She goes on further to describe the characters plight with what she is confronted with at the detention center - she can't handle it and begins to have doubts about what she is doing.  Again, this is the CHARACTER in the movie.

One of the things Kristen does state as her own opinion is quoted below from the original article- first the question and then her response (please forgive the language).

Q: Right. The mistake we make is not viewing these detainees down there as people, too. We’re all people. 

A: That is essentially so f***ing evil, it’s crazy. It’s a ridiculous idea for you to think that you know anything for sure in life—other than to take care of your fellow people. Where the f**k do you get off thinking otherwise? These two people couldn't be from more different worlds and perspectives, and probably disagree fundamentally on most things, but there’s a through-line for all of us—and that’s what people forget, and that’s what makes people capable of doing terrible things to each other. What makes you different from any other person that walks the earth?

Go back to items 1) and A) above.  I love the military and I'm not a Kristen Stewart fan.  But what she says there is pretty darned profound.  I'll admit that I want to see every terrorist punished to the ends of the earth.  I've also felt hate in my heart towards them.  But what she is saying here is that underneath all that hate her character has for the terrorist and below all the hate that the terrorist character has for her character - it is just two people.

She is not bashing the military or sympathizing with terrorist.  She is simply describing what her character goes through in a movie - and draws a parallel to a lesson we should all remember.  And probably without her even knowing, it is a lesson Jesus taught us.

Mark 12:31- Love your neighbor as yourself.
Luke 6:27- Love your enemies

As a matter of fact, the interviewer tries to get her to expand on current topics and she artfully declines.

Q: This is a pretty ripped-from-the-headlines film. What issues are you passionate about in the news? 

A: I don’t want to talk about that s**t at all. Trust me, I’m only asking for it. When it comes time to stand up and affect change, I’m not the type of person to shout from the rooftops. Just because you’re an actor and in the public eye, people think that’s how you must be. But there are other ways to do that. That’s not me.

So before you go bashing her on Facebook or sharing any of those hate producing articles - go a step further and do your own research.  Get to the truth.  And if the truth is something that fires you up - then by all means sound off.  But do it according to how we were commanded - don't contribute to the hate.

God Bless
Rob
www.starvt.com