I am writing this in response to the response made by Glenn Barry to Christina Powers (letters, Simi Valley Acorn , Oct. 9).

In the first paragraphs I thought Glenn was the indignant artist defending forever the right of creative license versus the poor, unsophisticated, uneducated, unartistic curmudgeon.

The opening attack, “Christina, it was a character, not a message,” was absolutely meant as a defense of all that is sacred and holy in the artistic world.

Glenn spent the next three paragraphs explaining how we must accept art for the sake of art itself and that to dare interfere would be in violation of our constitutional right to freedom of expression.

Then I read, “If in fact the makers of ‘Julie and Julia’ were expressing their opinion, deal with it.”

Oops. That sure sounds like circular reasoning.

As I read further, I learn that the people who should be criticized are conservative talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly, “who are real people, not characters in a film.” What happened to the freedom of expression that you so fervently defended in the last paragraph?

Glenn, if you honestly believe that there is not an agenda in the movie industry, then you are naive.

So, as I understand your argument, it is not good to criticize unless you agree with the criticism. I think Alice faced the same problem in Wonderland: “‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.’” Ron Hawley Simi Valley