A Day in the Life of Two Struggling Young Conservative Artists

By Ann-Marie Murrell || Many years ago when I was a struggling actress/single mom, I sometimes had to pay for gas with a handful of pocket change, which usually meant I wouldn’t eat lunch that day. It was rough juggling bills, trying to deem which collector was worthy of my hard-earned cash, and who would have to wait an extra week or so. I was constantly working at least two jobs, and in-between work I was also going on auditions, taking acting classes, working as an extra and/or doing commercials–whatever it took to bring in enough money to survive.

It never occurred to me to get on food stamps, although I probably could have qualified. I just worked and worked and worked.

Read more here at Front Page Mag.com : http://frontpagemag.com/2012/06/26/a-day-in-the-life-of-two-s... Times were tough for me back then, but I cannot imagine how much more difficult it is for young actors in the entertainment industry today. Despite their technological advantages, at almost $5 per gallon the gas alone would’ve wiped me out for good, and having to compete with people like Snookie for work? Sigh.
Two of my most favorite 20-somethings know these difficulties firsthand because they are living the artist’s life here in Los Angeles.
I’m calling them “Sam and Ellie” to protect their identities; both work in very liberal areas of show business and they could potentially lose their jobs if I named them. Despite the fact that Sam and Ellie work in the entertainment industry, they are both very strong conservatives. Their beliefs could literally be a detriment to their line of work, yet they still try to sneak off to listen to Rush Limbaugh and Larry Elder in their cars when they can and they avoid talking about politics in public. Neither can afford to lose any work in such shaky, unsure times.
I ask what their biggest difficulties are living in Los Angeles and both say “money.”
“It’s so hard to keep up,” Sam says, looking down at his hands. “No matter how hard we try, how hard we work, we’re still barely getting by.”
“If I get some great gig and make a big chunk of money,” Ellie says, “by the time we pay our rent and buy food and fill up our cars, it’s gone. Completely gone. It gets beyond frustrating at times, makes you wonder if it’s all worth it.” I ask them about politics. They are very passionate about their conservative values and equally passionate about what Republicans are doing wrong. “Young people are fed up of with hearing ‘left and right’, ‘Democrat and Republican’—all of it gets tossed up like a salad and ends up just making you angry and confused,” Sam says. “You guys have to find a way to get the message across that this is all about our money. All of it comes down to money, and who exactly is taking our money away from us.”
Sam believes all the conservative-speak about taxes and small government is lost on most young people today.
“Talking about their future and how their ‘grandchildren will have to pay’ is pointless when you don’t believe you have a future to look forward to in the first place,” Sam says.
“When I’m in restaurants I talk to the real people—the waiters and busboys– and ask if they’re doing better now than they were four years ago,” he says. “Almost every time, they say ‘no’. They tell me about someone in their life, either themselves or their parents or their friends, who are either homeless or jobless and looking for work. This is the worst it’s ever been in my life, and I’ve had a very rough life.”
Ellie adds, “My friends love Obama. They talk about how he’s going to save us all. They say he’s the only politician who’s ever cared about them…”
Sam animatedly says, “And that’s the problem, right there! Obama’s got ‘the message’ and it’s very, very simple: ‘I will help you.’ It doesn’t matter whether he can actually do it or not, and it doesn’t even matter if he’s the reason their lives suck—he comes across as the only person who can or will help them … [Conservatives] ha[ve] to find a way to get the message across in simple terms, without a lot of words and rhetoric – that [they]’re the ones who can actually help you … But so far no one’s been able to do that.”
“The old-school Republicans are what turned so many people our age off,” says Ellie. “After the Bush years, people hated Republicans. Hated them. They hated anyone that even looked like a Republican.”
“We know who the Democrats really are, what they stand for, what they’ve done,” Ellie says. “But most kids our age just don’t know these things—no one is telling them in a way that makes them listen.” When Sam and Ellie leave, I feel a combination of sadness and hope for them. They have more than most because they have each other; their love exudes all around them. But can they make it in such a crazy, backwards town and in this grim, volatile economy? As they drive away I notice a “Who is John Galt?” bumper sticker on their car. I smile.
With kids like this in California, I have hope that things are not as lost as they sometimes seem.