Radio Free Kirkopolis

"It was hard for us Vietnam vets to see Iraq creep up on us, just the way Vietnam did. I really believe if Bush or Cheney had fought in a war they wouldn't have put us through all the pain and suffering. I have three kids, including a 21-year-old son. Are they going to be Stealth jet pilots, like those guys in 'Why We Fight,' smiling after they've dropped the first bombs in Iraq?"Stone doesn't buy the argument that filmmakers should keep their politics to themselves. "I served my time in Vietnam. I pay my taxes. So why am I being muffled and censored as a celebrity? Why can't I speak out as a human being?"Which brings us back to the folly of judging an artist by his politics, not his work. I often get mail from conservatives saying they won't see a movie starring Sean Penn because they don't like his politics, which to me is just as narrow-minded as my saying I wouldn't see a movie directed by Mel Gibson because he hates Jews.Artists are not necessarily nice people, but it's their work that matters, not their politics or prejudices. As Stone says, the best movies are from the deepest, most mysterious place of all, from the heart.

You know, there's only one thing I hate more than Oliver Stone... and that's Oliver Stone when he's right.