In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
The Chicks Are Alright
You'd think America would have gotten over its fury at the Dixie Chicks by now.
But no. Ever since lead singer Natalie Maines proclaimed from a London concert stage that "we're ashamed that the president of the United States is from Texas," the backlash has come hard and fast and enduring.
...
It's possible to dismiss this incident as nothing more than a tempest in a pop-culture teapot, but that would be a mistake. Americans demonstrated an unsettling impatience with dissent during Gulf II; the prevailing attitude among war supporters held that critics, especially vocal ones, should be punished rather than appreciated, squelched rather than heard.
It's difficult, but essential, to understand why. After all, "Red-State" America has its president, its Congress, its pickup trucks, its NASCAR on Fox, its domination of the political media, and its war. You'd think that Red-Staters would be feeling fat and happy. Why then do they sound so culturally insecure? And why do they manifest that insecurity with such testosterone-fueled rage?
...
And so it's not surprising that some Americans want to take them down a few pegs. The Dixie Chick-bashers translate their socio-economic anxiety and threatened masculinity into misogyny, fear and violence. And then they call it patriotism.
Read the full article, its great. It includes Bush's patronizing reaction to the phenomenom: "They shouldn't have their feelings hurt just because some people don't want to buy their records when they speak out." Noting that the chicks were never complaing about their feelings.
- rob 1:30 PM - [PermaLink] -
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