Willis, sporting his signature tough guy smirk.
Although he’s a decent actor—his role as a rogue pugilist in Pulp Function was simply memorable—we don’t care a whole lot for Bruce Willis’ political persona, which, in general tacks right. That said, the below material shows a surprisingly cogent understanding of the anachronistic rot represented by religion, and for that reason we salute him. —P. Greanville
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Freethought of the Day
BRUCE WILLIS / March 19, 2013 On this date in 1955, actor Bruce Willis, ne Walter Bruce Willis, was born on a military base in Germany. He grew up in PennsGrove, New Jersey, attended Montclair State College, New Jersey, then moved to New York City. Willis waited on tables and bartended while looking for acting jobs. He was (type)cast for one of his first roles as a bartender by a director who spotted him tending bar. Willis’ TV break came in the series “Moonlighting” (1985). His first box office hit was “Die Hard” (1988). Among his many movies: “Look Who’s Talking” (1989), “The Bonfire of the Vanities” (1990), “The Last Boy Scout” (1991), “Pulp Fiction” (1994), “Twelve Monkeys” (1995), “The Jackal” (1997), “Breakfast of Champions” (1999), “The Sixth Sense” (1999), and “The Story of Us” (1999), not to mention three “Die Hard” sequels. Willis was married for 11 years to actress Demi Moore, with whom he has three daughters.
“Organized religions in general, in my opinion, are dying forms. They were all very important when we didn’t know why the sun moved, why weather changed, why hurricanes occurred, or volcanoes happened. Modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology. But there are people who interpret the Bible literally. Literally! I choose not to believe that’s the way. And that’s what makes America cool, you know?” —Bruce Willis, interview, George magazine (July 1998)
Voltaire whose work inspired the French Revolution was a staunch opponent of religion, particularly the Catholic Church which had dominion in France. He understood the profound connection between religious voodooism and agitation to corruption or violence, stated most eloquently as follows:
“Anyone who has the power to make you believe absurdities has the power to make you commit injustices.” Voltaire
I make frequent use of this quote to point out how dominion religions have endorsed and encouraged violence to animals, who most often the convenient scapegoat of biblical mandates.