# Ashton & Demi "I Pledge" video--Creepy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 4, 2009, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820 "2009-09-04T03:09:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/121 "2009-09-07T15:00:54Z")
That bunch have certainly done well under capitalism, agreed, but given that the (purported) point of the whole damn video was to encourage people to make a difference on an _individual_ level I fail to see how it is remotely “statist”. And your saying “one day of capitalism helps more people than an entire year of volunteerism” makes me want to vomit as much as the video did. It’s just a different flavor of Kool-Aid. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/122 "2009-09-07T22:29:54Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > That bunch have certainly done well under capitalism, agreed, but given that the (purported) point of the whole damn video was to encourage people to make a difference on an _individual_ level I fail to see how it is remotely “statist”. > > And your saying “one day of capitalism helps more people than an entire year of volunteerism” makes me want to vomit as much as the video did. It’s just a different flavor of Kool-Aid. I think it’s Mark Levin’s advertising agency or book publishers that have been pushing “statist” lately. It’s about as empty as Talk Radio’s other chants, so don’t expect any kind of substantive response to your question. I guess the only thing it’s good for in this context is as a signal to let you know when someone isn’t really thinking or worth noticing. Kind of like when someone starts bringing up astrology or feng sui in, well, just about any discussion. ETA: Thanks for the heads up on the RHCP. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/123 "2009-09-09T13:33:59Z")
Ah, the old “Left-wing sappy bullshit.” Where’s Lee Greenwood when you really need him, goddamit! ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/124 "2009-09-09T14:23:15Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Dwight Eisenhower asked wealthy Americans to do that. > > Maybe he was a Socialist too, no? Robert Welch wrote a whole book about that. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/125 "2009-09-10T20:10:13Z")
I watched the video. I don’t give a 100th of a shit about the celebs on it, though I wouldn’t mind chatting with Will.I.Am over an afternoon of cocktails, creative vision and all that, but the line at the bottom is simply that a bunch of people who have access to the magic of hollyweird made a video about a fella they really really like who happens to be the president. Meh. If you have enough of a backbone, and a good idea of who you are, what someone says means nothing. If you’re a jelly-spine with a skull full of lumpy yogurt, then the things they say have impact. **Carol Stream** do you intend to be a servant to Barack Obama? Will you get his slippers and snifter of brandy at night? Will you fetch his breakfast in the morning, salt his eggs to taste, and make sure his glass of OJ never gets past 1/2 empty? Cause if not, that we don’t really have all that much to talk about. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/126 "2009-09-10T23:07:49Z")
Re: the subject of OP, I quote Keith Richards, who, supposedly when asked if he would accept a knighthood, said “I get on my knees for no one.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/127 "2009-09-11T08:14:36Z")
I agree with the OP. Pledging to be a servant of the President or of the government turns the relationship between the citizen and the state on its head. Especially in the United States. The government is the servant of the people, not the other way around. I find it pretty disheartening that not only do so many of you disagree, but that you disagree so vehemently that you have to mock the very idea that there might be something wrong with this. It may be a trivial thing, especially coming from very trivial people like Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, but it’s still sickening to listen to. ---
**Author:** ![legalsnugs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@legalsnugs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/legalsnugs)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2009, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/128 "2009-09-11T08:23:55Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I agree with the OP. Pledging to be a servant of the President or of the government turns the relationship between the citizen and the state on its head. Especially in the United States. The government is the servant of the people, not the other way around… This is why I called out \*\*Carol \*\*in #38 - she says the government should be a servant to her, but in her next breath says she’ll run for her life if the government ever tries to help her. 😕 So I’ll ask you this: who do you think “the government” here is anyway? ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2009, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/129 "2009-09-12T15:28:56Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I agree with the OP. Pledging to be a servant of the President or of the government turns the relationship between the citizen and the state on its head. Especially in the United States. The government is the servant of the people, not the other way around. > > I find it pretty disheartening that not only do so many of you disagree, but that you disagree so vehemently that you have to mock the very idea that there might be something wrong with this. Excellent post. This kind of thing is the reason America rejected the idea of running their government as a monarchy back during the revolutionary days. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820/130 "2009-09-13T03:26:16Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Robert Welch wrote a whole book about that. Yes, well, [Robert Welch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Welch,_Jr.) was a fucking nutbar, as I’m sure you’ll agree. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ashton-demi-i-pledge-video-creepy/508820.md?page=6)