What do art and politics have to do with one another? Are celebrities any less worthy than anyone else when it comes to expressing political opinions?

Linda Ronstadt and the Aladdin. Whoopi Goldberg and Slim-Fast. Michael Moore and Disney. The Dixie Chicks and Clear Channel. Tim Robbins and the Baseball Hall of Fame.

An article on the First Amendment Center web site reveals that throughout history, celebrities of all political leanings have been dropped by the corporations which had sponsored them, although the current trend in the American media has been bashing celebrities who voice liberal views.

Some people believe art is only entertainment and escapism. Others believe art is a medium for a message. There are those who believe in the purity of aesthetic excellence. Still others believe that the more controversy stirred up over art through politics, the better art sells.

The latest episode, between singer Linda Ronstadt and the Las Vegas Aladdin Hotel and Casino, leads me to contemplate the First Amendment: the right to free speech in the United States. Perhaps the hotel-casino and the audience members who disagreed with Ronstadt’s opinion had the right to usher her out and to request refunds for the concert. Perhaps Ronstadt had the right to express her opinion during the concert. Certainly everyone should have been aware of the potential consequences for his or her actions.

The comedy inherent in this week’s situation results from the fact that the Aladdin Hotel and Casino will be taken over by Planet Hollywood International in the upcoming months. Hours after the news broke that current Aladdin president William Timmins had asked Ronstadt to leave and never return, Robert Earl, chief of Planet Hollywood International and prospective owner of the Aladdin, invited both Ronstadt and Michael Moore to return for a concert in the fall, after the Aladdin changes hands.

Sir Elton John has expressed the opinion that the current atmosphere in the United States is akin to 1950s McCarthyism. In an interview with the New York magazine, Interview, Sir Elton is quoted as remarking,

“There’s an atmosphere of fear in America right now that is deadly. Everyone is too career-conscious … There was a moment about a year ago when you couldn’t say a word about anything in this country for fear of your career being shot down by people saying you are un-American.”

Los Angeles-based writer Andrew Gumbel points out that perhaps these rebel celebrity headliners are less a manifestation of across-the-board censorship than they are of the extreme volatility present in the United States during an election year.