Some Grammy-inspired thoughts
I don't really care for the Grammy awards much. It's usually a battle of big commercial albums; a lot of really good music is never really considered.
That said, I had to cheer a little bit when I heard the Dixie Chicks swept the major awards. Though I don't agree that it's the best of album of the year (perhaps it was the best out of the five nominees), it's nice to see a band that has endured so much come out on top.
In case you don't remember, the Dixie Chicks were savaged by the public in March 2003 after their lead singer, Natalie Maines, made a jab at George W. Bush during a concert in London. The band was hit by the wave of zealotry that preceded the war in Iraq. In the firestorm that followed, mainstream country radio pulled their songs off the air, boycotts were organized, and their Cd's were steamrolled in the street. Worst of all, some "patriotic" individuals saw fit to make death threats against the band.
How does it so often happen that in our passion to defend "the American Way of Life" we trample over the most basic freedoms that comprise what it means to be an American? Freedom of speech is perhaps the most fundamental right, one of the basic building blocks of our country. After all, the democracy we champion throughout the world is meaningless without freedom of speech; we cannot truly have equality if some groups or individuals are denied the right to express themselves.
Furthermore, free speech and diversity of opinion are even more important in times of national crisis. While it is important in such times that we support each other as citizens of a common nation, no idea or course of action is strengthened by ignoring or diminishing opposing opinions. Given the cost in lives involved, no action deserves to be more highly debated than going to war.
And even the President, especially the President, must be open to criticism. Theodore Roosevelt asserted that "to announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." As the Commander-In-Chief, the President's actions are among the most weighty in the world; no decision should made without full consideration of the facts and the consequences. To hold the President beyond reproach, to silence dissenters in the name of unity, makes the President's decisions, and thus our country, weaker.
It would be easy to deem the Dixie Chicks' Grammy success as a victory for free speech. It's not. Does winning a few gold statuettes make up for all of the hardship they endured? Perhaps, but the real victory for free speech will come only when we are able to respond to adversity as a country while upholding the very freedom we claim to hold so dear.
That said, I had to cheer a little bit when I heard the Dixie Chicks swept the major awards. Though I don't agree that it's the best of album of the year (perhaps it was the best out of the five nominees), it's nice to see a band that has endured so much come out on top.
In case you don't remember, the Dixie Chicks were savaged by the public in March 2003 after their lead singer, Natalie Maines, made a jab at George W. Bush during a concert in London. The band was hit by the wave of zealotry that preceded the war in Iraq. In the firestorm that followed, mainstream country radio pulled their songs off the air, boycotts were organized, and their Cd's were steamrolled in the street. Worst of all, some "patriotic" individuals saw fit to make death threats against the band.
How does it so often happen that in our passion to defend "the American Way of Life" we trample over the most basic freedoms that comprise what it means to be an American? Freedom of speech is perhaps the most fundamental right, one of the basic building blocks of our country. After all, the democracy we champion throughout the world is meaningless without freedom of speech; we cannot truly have equality if some groups or individuals are denied the right to express themselves.
Furthermore, free speech and diversity of opinion are even more important in times of national crisis. While it is important in such times that we support each other as citizens of a common nation, no idea or course of action is strengthened by ignoring or diminishing opposing opinions. Given the cost in lives involved, no action deserves to be more highly debated than going to war.
And even the President, especially the President, must be open to criticism. Theodore Roosevelt asserted that "to announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." As the Commander-In-Chief, the President's actions are among the most weighty in the world; no decision should made without full consideration of the facts and the consequences. To hold the President beyond reproach, to silence dissenters in the name of unity, makes the President's decisions, and thus our country, weaker.
It would be easy to deem the Dixie Chicks' Grammy success as a victory for free speech. It's not. Does winning a few gold statuettes make up for all of the hardship they endured? Perhaps, but the real victory for free speech will come only when we are able to respond to adversity as a country while upholding the very freedom we claim to hold so dear.
Comments
I'm not convinced they couldn't have won w/o the controversy, but in that case this album would never have been made, so who knows.
Moreover, the reality is that the best album or song each year is seldom nominated, so one's votes for the Grammys might as well be a political statement - it's not like the product (a Grammy Award) has any integrity to begin with.