The Dixie Chicks swept the Grammies last night with 5 awards including Album, Song, and Record of the Year. This would be a great achievement for any artist, but in this case the significance transcends music. This moment rests firmly in the realm of cultural and political transformation. It is the story of the reemergence of authentic American liberty, and points towards the end of one of the most shameful eras of our history.In the run up to the war in Iraq, progressives watched Colin Powell at the United Nations, with absolute certainty that the whole parade was a charade which would inevitably tear apart our nation and threaten the world.
In living memory, America has not seen a more egregious betrayal of American trust. We watched jingoistic nationalism and divisional sectarian fear-mongering undermine American strength and freedom worldwide. It was truly a disgrace.
There were brave voices speaking out against the war, like the millions who marched on February 15, 2003. Strong voices like Jim Webb's prescient and insightful warnings went unheeded.
Without a national microphone, the voices of Americans against the Iraq War were like a whisper compared to the explosive, omnipresent drumbeat catapulted upon the American public by the Bush Administration, its well-paid propagandists and the supposed 4th estate which abdicated journalistic responsibility in favor of belligerent nationalism, fear, and blind revenge.
In the heat of the battle for Hearts and Minds of the American public, it seemed no one with a microphone had a lick of sense, and no one with a lick of sense could get access to a microphone. All of that changed when the Dixie Chicks stepped up one London Day in 2003 and denounced the President as the embarrassment he was and remains to this day.
The firestorm that followed them wasn't theirs alone. All of us who opposed the war were attacked as traitors. All of us who were ashamed of the dishonesty embodied by the President and his cronies suffered as we watched American decency traded for nationalistic fear. All of us who were predisposed to question authority were told to shut up and get back to work.
We all lived through it, but the spotlight shone on the Dixie Chicks, and we watched our countrymen denounce freedom with horror and the dread that our America was drearily slipping away.
It took over 3 years for the Dixie Chicks to respond. When they did, they responded with a glorious defiance that perfectly captured the crystal clear drive of American freedom in the face of authoritarianism. The hegemons and their lackeys resorted to violence, but the defenders of freedom used truth which rang clear as a bell in the haunting, melodic, harmonies of "Not Ready to Make Nice", deservedly Song of the Year.
In 2006, America truly turned a corner. Somewhere in there, the light went on again in America. Whether it was rampant Republican corruption in Congress, nightmarish incompetence in Iraq, or a realization that every promise of 30 years of right-wing conservatism had been realized in the personage of George W. Bush and had fully failed the nation, we can't say. But Freedom again triumphed over fear in the 2006 elections, with the ringing sounds of Natalie Maine's defiance carrying the torch like a striding liberty.
The Dixie Chicks are America's muses of freedom and their victory belongs to every man, woman, and child in the world willing to speak truth to power.
Their story is ours. Their victory is ours, and the future of freedom is stronger because they never let anyone tell them to shut up and sing.
"We'll give no more brave young lives for the gleam in someone's eyes."
"Bring 'em home, bring 'em home."
I remember some article in Rolling Stone where Bruce explained why he was a Democrat. He admitted it had nothing to do with social issues, it was all about class. He had grown up in a working family, and his mother had explained to him that the Democrats were the only ones who gave a damn about them.
Gotta love the Broooooooce!
You are so correct in stating:
"Their story is ours. Their victory is ours, and the future of freedom is stronger because they never let anyone tell them to shut up and sing."
I could not agree more!
The reason this resonated like it did was becaue of the genre; Bluegrass and Country. I happen to be a fan, and it doesn't take much to realize that country fans in general are a bit more conservative. Even with this President's low approval ratings, I'd still be as bold as to bet that a majority of country listeners still support President Bush.
The inclusion of direct links and the use of various visual items makes your posting so much more impressive and interesting to read than mine about the same topic from earlier today.
Most importantly, you correctly captured the essence of the reasons why the Dixie Chicks's success is of such vital interest to us all.
I am humbled by the superiority of your diary and your subsequent comments and will try to do better in the future.
Congratulations on a job quite well done, and thanks!
Steve
I "envy" your writing....an "excellent" article....WOW...I'd say you hit a home run....
Thanks for the link too...I truly appreciate it.
Buzz...Buzz....Mosquito
Also a youtube of them at the Grammies last night:
And how in the world can the words that I said
send somebody so over the edge
that they'd write me a letter
sayin that I'd "better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over"?
Thanks so much for this post. I watched the Grammy's (to the very end) with my 80-something mother and we both cheered. (She had the album even before I did.) I saw the movie, "Shut up and Sing" in a little theater full of townspeople foot-tapping and cheering on the Chicks. We knew many in the audience. As we left (the hubby never lets the credits run to completion before he gets up to leave), everyone else was tapping a foot or bouncing in his or her seat. It's a memory I'll always savor. Truth is, had we not left before credits' end, I would never have gotten to see the packed house all lovin' what they had seen.
Never underestimate what a few people can accomplish. We've seen a shining example here. And it takes nothing away from Bruce, who's also accomplished great things.