Not long ago, Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks wrote a little thing on Twitter regarding the 12-year anniversary of some controversial remarks that she made about then President George W. Bush.
Technically, she made these comments on March 11, 2003, and she made disparaging remarks about the president that was about to lead his country into a quagmire of a war that was justified on false premises and wound up being a far more difficult and complex war than the White House had led Americans to believe. Leading up to the invasion, which took place twelve years ago on this day.
Is there not irony in the fact that we are debating the possibility of going to war yet again in Iraq, twelve years after that invasion, which itself came twelve years after the first war in Iraq? Maybe the third time's the charm, right?
In any case, this is what Maines said during a concert that caused so much trouble:
“Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”
That's not that bad, is it? Well, I guess you can see how some people got offended, but the reaction was swift and, rather typically for the intolerant feel of the day, all-encompassing. Their music was pulled off from radio playing lists, there were bans of their music and they were no longer promoted like they had been prior to that event.
For a little while, they remained on the prominent music scene, and my then wife (who was a big fan of the Dixie Chicks) and I saw them at the Vote for Change finale concert in Washington.
Not too long after that, it seemed like you never heard from them again. They basically disappeared from the radar, with hardly a blip.
I felt bad for them, honestly. Yet, they were a huge band, selling what I imagine was millions of albums and singles, and I am pretty sure that there videos were frequently played on country music channels, and their songs on frequent rotation on country music stations.
All of that went away because of her one comment, which to me, revealed just how unhealthy, stagnant, and intolerant the political atmosphere in the United States had gotten, rather than being any sort of negative statement on Maines herself.
So, a dozen years later, does she regret what she said? Has she perhaps tried to come to terms with President Bush, or the United States in general?
Let's see what she has to say, all these years later:
Just so you know,12 years ago today,over half of this country had lost their minds and some questioned my knowitallness.
#dummies
— Natalie Maines (@1NatalieMaines) March 11, 2015
Is she backtracking, or perhaps feeling badly about what she said, and actually having the guts to take a stand against a president that she felt ashamed of?
Clearly not.
Good for her! I have far more respect for her, and the Dixie Chicks in general, than I do for the president that she criticized, who promised to bring integrity back into the White House, only to embarrass and discredit the country with an air of secrecy that did not prevent numerous corporate scandals that the administration was involved in from leaking out, as well as leading the country into an unjustified and extremely costly war, all while trying to redefine torture and trampling on human rights.
Here's the link to the story:
Natalie Maines Is Still Not Ready to Make Nice by chris parton 3/11/2015:
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