Viggo Speaks His Mind

The following is an extended quote from actor Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings, A History of Violence) an interview with Progressive Magazine:


“I’m not anti-Bush; I’m anti-Bush behavior. In other words, I’m against cheating, greed, cruelty, racism, imperialism, religious fundamentalism, treason, and the seemingly limitless capacity for hypocrisy shown by Bush and his administration.

The outright lying—even though we’ve become accustomed to lying from this Administration—has broken new ground in the field of dishonesty. They’re so clumsy in their attempts to come off well. And there is so little heart in what they say. Even the sound of their voices is so false.

I think impeachment proceedings need to be started immediately but not just against[Bush]. God forbid we should have Dick Cheney as President. No. Those two need to go, and many of the others in the inner circle need to go."


I don't suppose George is going to be renting Hidalgo anytime soon.

Mortensen goes on, now looking at the bigger picture:


"I think most Americans will look back on this period since 1980 as a morally bleak, intellectually fraudulent period of history. There will be a certain amount of shame, a feeling we were part of something wrong. People standing outside of this country can see this because it’s very obvious.

It’s like looking at a spoiled brat, a kid who’s totally out of control, but because the parents are really rich and because they own the school, you have to put up with it. America is an empire in decay. But we don’t have to lash out and do damage on the way down.

We can reverse some of the damage we’ve done. It’s possible."