Charleston, SC
Where were the mainstream artists criticizing the Iraq War in its earliest days? Shouldn’t real-time protest of unjust war be part of the job description for most any self-respecting rock, blues or jazz musician? My friend Gene McDaniels certainly made this case with his epic '60s protest song Compared to What, which promptly found him on Nixon's "enemies list."
The same can be said of our mainstream media. With the exception of superb reporting by the likes of Knight-Ridder’s Washington bureau, the Fourth Estate fell silent (See Organizational Learning: Knight Ridder for October 12, 2006). Instead, at the outset of the war, embarked broadcast reporters cruised breathlessly on Humvees through the desert night and into Baghdad downright giddy with excitement.
The few musicians or journalists who questioned the war at the time were branded unpatriotic. This is ironic, of course, since they were performing among the most sacred of patriotic duties. They dared question the tragic absurdities of political hubris that in the case of the Iraq War violate any sane definition of reason, wisdom, common sense, morality, ethics or law. Jefferson told us that when we surrender reason, man “has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous and, like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.” (The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, 1901, Washington, p. 270). That foul wind blew the ship of state fiercely in 2002 and 2003 and, as a result, our Republic now risks shipwreck.
Those few musicians who did urge us to reconsider the needless slaughter of innocent Americans and Iraqis were ostracized. Remember what happened to Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks after their early questioning of the war? They stood tall, as did the Canadians Neil Young, Randy Newman, Bright Eyes and few others.
Apparently, it’s now the piling-on season. Many musicians are today producing anti-war and anti-Bush Administration screeds by the dozens, now that it is commercially safe to do so. Where were you back then, folks? Sure let’s acknowledge Bjork (“Declare Independence”), Tori Amos (“Yo George”), Norah Jones (“My Dear Country”), Linkin Park (“The Little Things Give You Away”), Nine Inch Nails (“Capital G”), Sum 41 (“March of the Dogs”) and others for jumping into the fray – where the water is now room temperature and everybody is in the pool.
Still, it’s entirely too easy. Criticizing President Bush is just too simple and bountiful a task and, as such, entirely too facile. And maybe this is my age showing, but I want very tough and well-deserved criticism nonetheless to be respectful of the Presidency and our nation. Yes, disagree with this Administration, but please do not disparage the institution and the great nation it represents. One has to continue hoping that our greatest days remain ahead of us.
Where were the mainstream artists criticizing the Iraq War in its earliest days? Shouldn’t real-time protest of unjust war be part of the job description for most any self-respecting rock, blues or jazz musician? My friend Gene McDaniels certainly made this case with his epic '60s protest song Compared to What, which promptly found him on Nixon's "enemies list."
The same can be said of our mainstream media. With the exception of superb reporting by the likes of Knight-Ridder’s Washington bureau, the Fourth Estate fell silent (See Organizational Learning: Knight Ridder for October 12, 2006). Instead, at the outset of the war, embarked broadcast reporters cruised breathlessly on Humvees through the desert night and into Baghdad downright giddy with excitement.
The few musicians or journalists who questioned the war at the time were branded unpatriotic. This is ironic, of course, since they were performing among the most sacred of patriotic duties. They dared question the tragic absurdities of political hubris that in the case of the Iraq War violate any sane definition of reason, wisdom, common sense, morality, ethics or law. Jefferson told us that when we surrender reason, man “has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous and, like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind.” (The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, 1901, Washington, p. 270). That foul wind blew the ship of state fiercely in 2002 and 2003 and, as a result, our Republic now risks shipwreck.
Those few musicians who did urge us to reconsider the needless slaughter of innocent Americans and Iraqis were ostracized. Remember what happened to Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks after their early questioning of the war? They stood tall, as did the Canadians Neil Young, Randy Newman, Bright Eyes and few others.
Apparently, it’s now the piling-on season. Many musicians are today producing anti-war and anti-Bush Administration screeds by the dozens, now that it is commercially safe to do so. Where were you back then, folks? Sure let’s acknowledge Bjork (“Declare Independence”), Tori Amos (“Yo George”), Norah Jones (“My Dear Country”), Linkin Park (“The Little Things Give You Away”), Nine Inch Nails (“Capital G”), Sum 41 (“March of the Dogs”) and others for jumping into the fray – where the water is now room temperature and everybody is in the pool.
Still, it’s entirely too easy. Criticizing President Bush is just too simple and bountiful a task and, as such, entirely too facile. And maybe this is my age showing, but I want very tough and well-deserved criticism nonetheless to be respectful of the Presidency and our nation. Yes, disagree with this Administration, but please do not disparage the institution and the great nation it represents. One has to continue hoping that our greatest days remain ahead of us.