I am not and never have been a fan of the Dixie Chicks. I've liked
some of what they've done, but overall their music has never been my
cup of tea. But I find myself rooting for their success with the
release of their new album, Taking the Long Way. I wouldn't be
surprised if a lot of other people feel the same way.

The Dixie Chicks have faced what a lot of Americans have faced, but
have done so in a very public manner. By voicing their dissent in
regard to the war in Iraq and condemning President Bush, they have all
but been blacklisted in Country music. What success they have enjoyed
since condeming President Bush and the incredible over-reaction by the
Country music industry has come largely from Pop cross-overs. I hope
that trend continues, because I would love to see the Dixie Chicks
continue. If for no other reason than to annoy the crap out of the
Right-Wingers all over the country, whose typical reaction to anyone
who disagrees them is to attempt to silence their voice. I hope that
every time the Dixie Chicks sing a song, the Right-Wingers shiver.

Well, I don't criticize anyone for their musical tastes, but this
whole thing sums up why I don't listen to country music. You must
remember that I am someone who has in his CD collection music by
Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Hank
Williams (I, II and III), among many others that are considered to be
legends in Country music. The problem here is that they've stopped
making Country music. What exists now is a format and form that fits
an ideology. It's the soundtrack to a political point of view. The
Conservatives saw that Bill Clinton used Rock and Roll, and so they
adopted Country music. The result was propaganda.

Frank Bell, VP of programming at independent Froggy radio, said "I
think when you look at what country music and country music listeners
are all about, it's family, fun, faith and flag. I haven't heard the
whole CD, but the singles have none of that."

That explains somewhat the incredible outpouring of emotion and
propaganda that has surrounded the Dixie Chicks' latest album. The
Dixie Chicks broke with formatting.

They broke away from the very things I hate about contemporary Country
music. I've travelled extensively in the United States. I've been in
countless truck stops where contemporary Country music was playing
over the intercom. And I must say that it's virtually impossible to
tell one singer or song from the next. But what makes it so grating is
that on top of that incredible banality they pile on ideas such as
patriotism and love of country, and somehow portray this drivel as the
music of the American patriot. Rock and Roll is for anarchists.
Country is for Americans.

This is not a dissection of the relative merits of Country music
versus Rock and Roll, but rather a rant about how an entire genre of
music has been taken over by a Right-Wing ideology. If our democracy
falls to the one-party theocracy that the Religious Right and
Right-Wing Conservatives are aching for, it will largely be
accomplished to a Country music soundtrack.

I don't see that the Dixie Chicks have any choice but to leave behind
the lemmings who constituted their original fan base. To that end I
offer them the best. I believe that I may very well buy their new CD
just to help them shake a fist at these charlatans in Country music
who wrap themselves in the American flag and then betray American
democracy by demanding that any voices that contradict their own be
silenced immediately.

I have to say, given the level of discourse going on surrounding the
Dixie Chicks and their latest album, they will most likely do just
fine. If for no other reason than that the furor will compell a lot of
people to come see what all the fuss is about.

- Wicasta Lovelace