Here is a prediction that warms the cackles of my cynical heart. I predict the Dixie Chicks will win the Grammy for best song of the year for their song ‘I’m not ready to play nice.’ Now, I am not a big Dixie Chicks fan, accept for Natalie Manies, I think she’s hot. What I am though is a big fan of free speech. The fact that they had the courage to criticize Shrub at the height of his popularity shows a tremendous amount of guts.
What the American public did to these women in the months that followed Manies’s statement is a public chronicle of the rise of neo-fascism in America. What Maines said was no harsher a criticism than what was being volleyed about the floor of the Congress in the weeks before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
The only difference was the prejudice of country music fans. Jeez, for people who do not want to be portrayed as inbred, redneck, trailer trash, they sure have a funny way of showing it. Let us not forget the public CD burnings and the boycott of the Chicks by radio stations across the country.
See, America espouses the right to free speech as long as it does not piss in someone else’s beer but man say something unpopular like ‘you are ashamed of Bush,’ or ‘Gays need to lighten up’ , or ‘Guns are bad,’ or ‘There was no holocaust,’ and see how long it takes before someone descends on you like a vulture and tries to squelch your right to say what you think.
America needs to reexamine its priorities in the coming decade, the first thing we need to ask is, ‘why do the statements of celebrities carry so much weight?’ they are not special. Why does the press drop to its knees every time George Clooney speaks? He’s just an egocentric asshole actor out to grab headlines because ‘Ocean’s Twelve’ was a crappy film. Smug bastard!
Anyhow, free speech good! Dixie Chicks not evil! Thag say it okay listen to their tunes!
1 comment:
I dig the Dixie Chicks. Anybody who could put the song Goodbye Earl out there is alright by me. I agree, they were unfairly criticized for their statement.
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