As war has begun and many of Hollywood’s stars stand in protest of the President and this war, I have to ask myself, what has happened to patriotism in Hollywood? Better yet, what has happened to the patriots in Hollywood?

Jimmy Stewart, Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Art Carney, Sean Connery, Audie Murphy, Lee Marvin, Glen Miller, David Niven, Kris Kristofferson, Drew Carey, Bill Cosby, Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Mel Brooks, Eddie Albert, Jason Robards, Glen Ford, Clint Eastwood, Elvis as well as many other entertainers served our country and God bless them for it.

They went quietly and selflessly to serve, drawing little attention to themselves. Duty called and they went &045; as did Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Ann Margaret and numerous others to entertain our troops.

But today there is definitely a different breed in Hollywood drawing a great deal of attention to themselves and not serving our country or supporting those who do.

Rosie O’Donnell, George Clooney, Martin Sheen, Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, the Baldwin brothers, Mike Farrell, Danny Glover, Larry Hagman, Robert Altman, Sean Penn, Spike Lee, Dustin Hoffman and others protest our President and this war.

It’s not as if this is a choice, nor is it a fictitious script to be acted out with various roles played, glamorous set changes, unrealistic scenes, elaborate cast parties, beautiful facades and the finale written by a small group of writers.

War is nonfiction &045; not fiction! (It adds new meaning to the term Reality TV.)

There are no breaks or script changes. Innocent people die.

It is dirty, bloody, ugly, inconsistent, unpredictable, mean, cruel and unfortunately, realistic &045; something about which most in Hollywood know nothing; something about which, thank God, most of us know nothing.

It is however, reality &045; and the harsh reality is that movie stars are for acting and soldiers are for fighting. Just like real estate agents are for selling houses and schoolteachers are for teaching &045; actors are for acting not giving intellectual analysis on foreign policy. Yes, they have a right to voice their opinions, just as I do. But that’s all they are, opinions &045; not fact, not credible consensus, just opinions.

Besides, what makes their opinions any greater than the opinions of the local pharmacist or the drycleaner down the street?

Nothing.

Yet they make a statement and the entire world hears it on TV or in the papers. Their fame and fortune does not translate to more credibility. Yet, sadly but surely, it means they get heard more often.

Many people give praise to the movie stars who serve our country by giving thousands of dollars to charities each year, and I certainly commend them as well.

However, giving money certainly cannot be compared to someone sacrificing his or her life.

In addition, is $1 million for Barbra Streisand, Ed Asner, Ed Harris or Jane Fonda, statistically speaking, as much from a percentage perspective as the $1,000 some unknown businessman in Columbiana, Ala., who lives on a fixed income of $55,000 a year gives? I think not.

If there was a group of musically talented young women named the Iraqi Chicks, how many albums do you think they would have sold in America?

What percentage of their wealth do you think is attributed to &uot;American&uot; money under the name of Dixie Chicks?

God bless the movie stars and musicians who help other people and there are many. But it is a sad state of affairs when there are so many today who are making anti-American statements and turning their backs on our President and the very country to which they owe their successes.

It is this land of opportunity (protected by our military) that allows them to use their God-given skills and abilities to earn and enjoy their wealth. It is the same country, protected by the same military that allows them their freedom of speech. It was paid for with the blood of soldiers.

God bless the days of Jimmy Stewart, Audie Murphy, Elvis and the other stars that knew how to act (no pun intended) and how to serve. They were patriotic and proud of their country and their military. They were patriots.

As a tribute to them, I wish today’s movie stars and musicians would act and sing more and talk less. Besides, that’s what we pay them to do &045; or at least what we did pay them to do.

I, for one, won’t be paying them much anymore