Saturday, September 25, 2004
The Boss paralysed by the climate of fear
Bruce Springsteen shares his thoughts on the state of the American media:
Speaking of the climate of fear, the Boss has this to say:
And speaking of Dixie Chicks, I can only repeat the memorable words of Kid Rock: "Who would you trust to make your decisions, Donald Rumsfeld or the Dixie Chicks?"
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"The press has let the country down. It's taken a very amoral stand, in that essential issues are often portrayed as simply one side says this and the other side says that. I think that Fox News and the Republican right have intimidated the press into an incredible self-consciousness about appearing objective and backed them into a corner of sorts where they have ceded some of their responsibility and righteous power."You've heard it here first: the evil vast right-wing conspiracy has intimidated the media into being... gasp... objective. Where will it stop? Even more objectivity and surely the terrorists would have won. We never thought we'd live to see America gripped by the climate of fear that makes the media report both sides of the story.
Speaking of the climate of fear, the Boss has this to say:
"People are always trying to shut up the people they don't agree with -- through any means necessary, usually. There certainly was an attempt to intimidate the Dixie Chicks. What happened to them was a result of war fever - simple as that, war fever. They've handled it incredibly. They are very smart, tough women, and they did not back down. But it's one of those sad paradoxes that in theory we're fighting for freedom, and the first thing people are willing to throw out is freedom of speech at home and castigate anybody who is coming from a different point of view."Which is called disagreement. On a serious note, trying to make somebody lose their livelihood because you disagree with their political views is truly despicable. Which is why Bruce Springsteen will not be participating in the Vote for Change tour which aims to mobilise young voters to kick George Bush out of office for the war in Iraq... What? He is participating? Oh, but I hear you say that you can't compare Dixie Chicks to George Bush. Well, I'm afraid that once Dixie Chicks choose to make political statements, they become part of the political scene, with all the consequences that entails. Just as if the President chose to release a CD, he wouldn't expect any special treatment from critics and the buying public on the account that he's not really a muso but a politician.
And speaking of Dixie Chicks, I can only repeat the memorable words of Kid Rock: "Who would you trust to make your decisions, Donald Rumsfeld or the Dixie Chicks?"
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