printWhile not very many smart people are genuinely kind, very many kind people are truly smart. As Oscar Wilde reminded us, “kindliness requires imagination and intellect.” In Kathy Griffin, my favorite comedian, imagination and intellect have combined to yield a great deal of kindness. Her visit to Iraq to cheer the troops lay bare just how kind—and perceptive—she really is.
Griffin’s interactions with the broken Sgt. Adkins—he had just survived a mortar attack that took the life of his fiance and best friend—were achingly sensitive. (She did, of course, ask him if they were giving him any good drugs.)
About the unnecessary war, she said: “The more I’m in an actual war zone, the more it’s just ugly. It’s not cool, it’s not a Toby Keith song; it’s not opening up a can of whoop-ass. It’s just horrible. I don’t know. Is it really worth losing so many of our own?”
Griffin’s account of the Iraq tour on her Bravo Blog is entitled, “I Came. I Saw. Iraq.” But just in case you get the wrong idea, she quickly clarifies parenthetically: “(Which is different than “I saw Iraq. I came.” Which did not happen. Because, like I said—that place is a s**t-hole.)”
I love her to bits.