The Charlie Sheen/Moammar Gadhafi Connection

Over the past week, I’ve been on a skiing vacation in France. One of the things I’ve learned is that Internet access is far from brilliant in Chamonix. Still, I’ve managed to follow two seemingly very different stories, one portraying Colonel Moammar Gadhafi’s handling of the revolt in Libya, the other Charlie Sheen’s continuing self-destruction.

Today I realized that those stories are closely linked. Gadhafi and Sheen are remarkably similar. The former has inexplicably been the leader of Libya since 1969 ever since grabbing power in a revolution. The latter has inexplicably been a Hollywood star since the mid-80s, partly aided by the fact that he’s Martin Sheen’s kid. No one really respects Gadhafi, but have always been forced into negotiating with him. No one really respects Sheen, but have always been forced into negotiating with him. Why? Gadhafi controls crowds with violence, Sheen controls crowds by making movies and TV shows that are entertaining enough to prevent one from getting up from the La-Z-Boy to grab the remote. Gadhafi has been stealing from his people and torturing them for decades; Sheen has been snorting cocaine, getting stupid-drunk and banging whores and porn stars for decades. But now things are changing fast for both of them and neither understands what’s going on. They’re out of touch. As the people of Libya turned against Gadhafi because of his behavior, everybody in Sheen’s presence also started telling him that his behavior was intolerable. Now, the wise thing for both of them would be to just admit their errors and do something about the crisis. But they refuse. All kinds of rumors are swirling around them. Gadhafi is fleeing to Venezuela! Sheen is building a house for his porn star buddies!

Then suddenly, a few days ago, Gadhafi makes a clownish appearance in a van holding an umbrella, telling the people of Libya that all they’ve heard are lies. At the same time, Sheen makes a clownish appearance on radio’s “The Alex Jones Show” telling his fans that all they’ve heard are lies. Gadhafi tells the world that the protesters in Tripoli are high on drugs supplied by (get this) al-Qaeda; Sheen tells the world that Two and a Half Men creator Chuck Lorre is (get this) “a contaminated little maggot”.

The results? The UN Security Council has voted in favor of tough sanctions against the Libyan regime and possible war-crimes charges. CBS has halted production of new Two and a Half Men episodes for the remainder of the season and could possibly axe the show altogether. In Tripolis, people are getting killed as a result of Gadhafi’s actions; in Hollywood, people are losing jobs because of Sheen’s actions. Still, they both remain defiant, confident in their belief that a fan base remains loyal to them. Well, gentlemen, those days are gone.

politik politics usa libya libyen usa tv tv IMDb