I know I am late to the party on civility, but I was thinking about the two sides of the current debate over whether to be nice to the opposition over the border crisis (an various other things) or to keep getting in their face when I heard this on Pandora. Remember this song?
x YouTube VideoRemember when Natalie Maines of “The Dixie Chicks” said this during a concert in London?
The Dixie Chicks are drawing criticism from country music fans for remarks singer Natalie Maines made about President George W. Bush during a recent performance in London.
Maines told the audience earlier this week, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."
“Dixie Chicks Slammed For Bush Gibe” by Jarrett Murphy, CBS News 3/15/2003
Ms. Maines may have made the statement, but the whole group agreed it should be done. They honestly felt that this was a mistake and they took a lot of heat for it. At time time, they were taken off of country radio stations and blasted by “patriotic” Americans for speaking out against the Iraq War. They have became persona non grata in country music ever since. Just a couple of years later, though, they were proven right. They also produced the above song (side note: It was primarily written by Semisonic leader and Minnesota music demi-god Dan Wilson) and it received raves from music critics. Another good thing about this is the song went on to win a Grammy for Song of the Year, and deservedly so. I remember Don Henley of the Eagles announced the win and he pumped his fist in celebration when he saw who won.
Regarding this need for civility in this debate over language with our current administration, I can only say this is not the time to back down. No one is talking about pitchforks and torches. We’re talking about standing up for ourselves. It might be painful, but in the end it just might be worth it.