The first time I ever heard of the Dixie Chicks, they were featured in a segment on CNN. I thought they were kind of cute and their music was okay. But, gosh, what a dorky name for a band. For a while I called them the Dixie Fräuleins.
I've come to appreciate them considerably more. I still think the band name is kind of dorky. But since it now is a synonym for "Americans who don't believe in cheering for war and killing based on lies", I have no reason to complain about it.
Der Spiegel has an interview with Natalie Maines on their English Web site ("Let them Hate Us" 07/11/06):
SPIEGEL: If the right to freedom of expression is an untouchable fundamental American right, does that not make your critics the people who are truly unpatriotic?
Maines: It seemed like traditional values had been temporarily suspended. I didn't recognize this country, we didn't know what year it was and we didn't know what country we were in. The Republicans and right-wing groups were very organized and they knew exactly what they were doing. It seems like our media is dominated by right-wing media moguls like Rupert Murdoch (Fox News). If you don't share their opinions, they label you as a terrorist or a person who doesn't have any family values. Unfortunately, people in the US who don't have the time to seek out the truth through neutral news sources have a real problem.
SPIEGEL: So perhaps the conservatives are the more patriotic ones?
Maines: Not in my view. These people may think they are patriotic, but I think they are irresponsible. And this whole episode has fundamentally changed my definition of patriotism. Do I have a flag on my car? No. Do I stand up for my rights as an American? Yes.
SPIEGEL: Is that why you continue, unperturbed, to give interviews that are critical of Bush?
Maines: Well, these days there's no danger in that, anyway. Recently, the far-right tried to take me on again over a statement I made to Time magazine about not having respect for the president. But their campaign didn't work this time. It's not news that I don't like the president and everyone who was going to hate us already does. You know, we definitely lost fans forever, but we also gained some new ones.
SPIEGEL: Still, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that you had to cancel half of your US tour because of poor ticket sales.
Maines: That was everywhere, but it isn't true. Unfortunately, everyone believed it. The truth is that our last tour sold out in a day and sales on this one are taking a bit longer.
Her description of those weeks in the runup to the Iraq War in 2003 is right on the mark: "It seemed like traditional values had been temporarily suspended."
1 comment:
Natalie is right about one thing: she does have a big mouth.
No prob, it's her right to use it. A lot of people died to defend that right. Wonder if she actually appreciates that fact?
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