26 Apr Freedom of Expression Proof of Purchase

Posted at 13:32h in News Outta My Control by

DixieI’ve been following the saga of outspoken Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks. Freedom of Expression is a hobby of mine. So I was particularly interested in Thursday’s 20/20 Primetime interview with the trio by Diane Sawyer. That same day, the group appeared on Entertainment Weekly’s May 2nd cover—in the buff and covered with epithets that had been slung at them since Natalie’s fifteen words of shame/fame: “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas.”

I could only watch 15 minutes of the program. It was too depressing to hear radio talk show callers state their desire to strap Ms. Natalie to a bomb and drop her over Iraq. It was too depressing to watch “impromptu,” Clear Channel-inspired, demonstrators smashing CDs with a bulldozer (NY Times, free registration required). I had to turn it off.

What were we fighting for in Iraq if not for freedom to say what we believe in?

I’m not a country music fan and, true, Maines’ offhand remark wasn’t the most elegantly stated prose. But I believe in her right to voice it so strongly I bought their latest CD, Home. RETAIL. And here’s my Freedom of Expression Proof of Purchase™ to prove it. I invite you to do the same by proudly displaying your own proof of purchase on your lapel or your Web site!

Jeff
jeffgates@outlook.com
5 Comments
  • Zorbs
    Posted at 21:01h, 26 April

    Got here via Blogs Against War, but your layout is so gorgeous that I put you in my reading list.

  • les
    Posted at 02:17h, 27 April

    Jeff: The topic of freedom of expression is sure to draw controversy. I agree, it is imperative that people be free to express themselves. This however also means that those in disagreement to the Dixie Chick remarks have their right to disagree and speak out. If they choose to sling epitaphs, they have that right. Should they choose to smash CD’s, boycott a concert or whatever, it is balanced with your right to go out and purchase their CD’s, go to their concert or express your opinion. Your “freedom of expression proof of purchase” is the same as “freedom fries” to others. Personally, I don’t think the words Dixie and Chicks should be used together unless you are referring to Southern fired chicken. But, then that’s my freedom of expression, isn’t it.
    God, I love this site.
    Les

  • Jeff
    Posted at 08:56h, 27 April

    Zorbs, thanks for coming. Hope you’ll return.
    Les, thanks for your comments. Yes, everyone has a right to speak their mind in this country, theoretically (and legally, btw, at least for now).
    However, the DCs were being singled out for speaking theirs. Those who chose to destroy their CDs or refuse to buy their music were not. In other words, there is a double standard if we use your benchmark for freedom of expression: it’s ok to speak out (act out, if you will) as long as it isn’t against the President or his policies.
    That being said, there is another issue I can’t ignore: Lowry Mays, the head of Clear Channel (the company behind many DC-bashing actions and whose radio stations are boycotting their music) is a close associate of the President and his family. The political context of this situation shouldn’t be ignored.

  • Elaine
    Posted at 11:52h, 27 April

    I’m with you on this, Jeff. Book burning, CD burning — we have to keep fighting it, with voice, with coin, with votes. While I don’t believe in conspiracies, I do believe that “birds of a feather…” and the Bush flock is getting awfully big and powerful. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on purpose or not. What matters is that the power is being concentrated. And our freedoms are being diluted.

  • Donna
    Posted at 00:37h, 29 April

    Jeff, you and I had the same idea at the same time. I have never bought a country album but I went out and bought “Fly,” an award-winning DC CD. While les makes a good point, this is somehow different. I don’t recall a period in my lifetime when the media was dominated by right-wing politics. In LA, we no longer have any left-wing radio shows on AM. The few who remained, Michael Jackson (the Brit) for one, have been fired. And the ones in the middle who might swing either way are finding themselves becoming very conservative all of a sudden.
    You know that a verb has been formed. “I didn’t want to be Dixie-Chicked,” Madonna said. Bill Mahr said it too, on Jay Leno, that he was “Dixie-Chicked,” when his comment on his late show was taken by some to be pro-Osama. This was after 911 when tempers were hot – 9/11, the incident that had nothing to do with Sadam and our government knows it. Bill did not mean that but in the simplicity and heat of the moment and – more importantly, because he was left wing and liberal, he lost his tv show.
    Clear Channel has tremendous power by holding the reins of so many media horses. This is not at all a case of free speech on “our side” or “their side.” The radio, the tv — it was hard to get all sides of the story during Bush’s war. You couldn’t just turn from channel 2 to channel 7 and get a different perspective. CNN wasn’t much better. Reporters were “imbedded” meaning they had to have government approval. The gov. was going to control the news we received. Cable delivers us a ridiculous number of tv stations but the only way I was able to hear what was really going on in Iraq – meaning news that was not sugar-coated, news that was revealed and not hidden – was by listening to Amy Goodman on Pacifica public radio.