The National Anthem. Music, Politics And Pride.

This little ditty takes place just a few days ago at the restaurant in which I get yelled at.

We had changed many of the televisions to the football (futbol) game between USA and Mexico, which all of the kitchen staff was very excited about.

Again, I'm not a sports fan, but since it's something a bit different from what is normally on, I tried to watch a bit of it. Before the game started, they played both national anthems. (When is someone going to write The International Anthem? I'll let composer extraordinaire George Thorogood tackle that nuanced, multi-cultural melodic theme).

As the American National Anthem played, I mentioned to one of the kitchen staff that I thought our anthem sucked, from a musical perspective (because it does). He nodded, and did not seem to care one way or the other. Being from Mexico City, the American Anthem probably mattered not to him.

It just so happens that one of my managers was standing nearby and had overheard my comment.

When I asked that manager a bit later if I could take a break, he replied with:

"No, because you hate the national anthem."

He said this with a smile, intending to convey his comment as simply sarcastic, but he said it with such conviction, that one could tell there was a good amount of truth mixed in there as well.

I tried to clarify my comment by explaining that it was the musical content I objected to.

"It's just not a very good song." I said, as if that would make everything alright.

"What are you, a fucking terrorist?" According to him, I was now equivalent to a terrorist. And I'm sure you can easily see why.

You know terrorists, the kinds that commit violent acts of destruction and violence for religious or political reasons?

That's me.

Obviously.

I smiled at his silly comment, but again, as before, I could tell there was some truth in his comment. Part of him actually felt that I was on par with al-Qa'ida for my opinion on a song.

Again, with no luck, I tried to say that what I was really objecting to was the melodic content. I tried to tell him that I thought the song was uninteresting in its chord structure, rather predictable and bland.

My clarification appeared to work, as I was now upgraded from terrorist to Commy.

"Dude, you can't not like the national anthem," he stated.

When I asked him why, he said that the reason I cannot not like it is because it is about pride.

"Really?" I thought to myself. "I thought I was able to like or not like anything I so choose, and If I actually could not dislike the anthem then I would be living under a tyranny."

Of course, I did not say that. Actually, I only thought of it right now, so I was lying to you.

As he took a quick phone call, he said he was determined to win the argument.

Once he was off the phone, I decided to take his example to the extreme and apply that theory to everything. Maybe I could make a point.

"Let's say I don't like The Candy Man Can from Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Does that mean I don't like candy?"

He raised an eyebrow at me as if what I was saying was really stupid. And perhaps it was, but it made sense to me.

"No man, that's not the same..."

I continued with another example.

"Or if I don't like the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love", does that mean I hate love, or just the song?

Again, he said that my examples were totally off. The anthem was different.

I disagree.

"Different how?" I prodded.

"If you don't like it you are a Commy, a Nazi, or a terrorist. Grow your mustache back Hitler!". He thought this was hilarious. (By the way I did actually sport a Hitler/Chaplin 'stache for a day at work, for a fun social experiment, and because I was bored).

I denied his insult-based-evidence and told him that if my other song examples do not apply to his theory that 'not liking a song about America instantly means I hate America', then he is being inconsistent and hypocritical with these arbitrary rules he wants to apply to only one song.

That is called special pleading. When you apply a rule to everything else but the thing you are arguing, or apply a rule to only the thing you are arguing, and ignore everything else. Sorry buddy, it does not work that way.

Imagine going to a retail store flying a large banner out side proclaiming that "Everything is on sale!" So you enter, and browse the aisles until you find the item you want. At the checkout the item rings up at full price. You stop the clerk and say, "Wait, that is supposed to be on sale." He says, "No, sorry, this is regular price." Confused you restate the rule of the sign, "I thought that everything was on sale?" He shakes his head, "Everything but this thing."

I'm guessing you might want to get rid of, or possibly change that sign that says everything is on sale, eh?

Sorry, I got sidetracked. I believe he was defending his reasons.

"No way!" he retorted. "You can't judge the anthem the way you can judge other songs."

"Bullshit!" I said, getting heated about this discussion, matching his intensity. "The national anthem is just a song, like any other song, therefore I can judge it as a song. And I think that it sucks... AS A SONG."

Obviously this conversation was going nowhere, as I saw the topic as one based upon music, and he did not make that distinction. There was no way I could see us coming to any sort of agreement.

I can't defend his point of view, but I sure can defend mine.

Music and message do not have to be synonymous. There are very political bands out there that have a strong liberal or conservative slant, yet not everyone who likes their music subscribes to the bands' views. It's possible that people can just like the music.

I've listened to a lot of black and death metal over the years, both with crazy lyrics talking about Satan, demons and disemboweling women through their Va-jay-jays.

Does that mean I agree wholeheartedly with those ideas?

Fuck no.

(Though I am a card-carrying member of the Satanic Vaginal Intestine Rippers Of Colorado (SVIROC))

Those lyrics are retarded, silly, childish, and absurd. But that doesn't change the fact that some of the music is super badass.

As I was ordering food through the bartender, the manager made sure to change my name on the ticket to "America hater", which he printed out with a laugh, and handed me his clever creation.

I laughed a bit, but really, I was thinking how much of a soar spot this topic had dredged up for him, even if part of it was a joke.

What I was starting to understand from him, whether partly in jest or not, was the lesson that pride in your country, based on simply being a citizen of the country, is, I'm guessing, quite important. Not really sure why, but it seems to be.

Let me ask you this: Are you proud of your local sports teams when they lose terribly? Are you happy with your favorite band when they finally put out a disappointing album? Are you proud of your child when he gets in trouble at school for showing his "pee pee" to the class?

Pride has its place, but as I see it, should be based upon accomplishment.

I am not pro-America, nor am I anti-America. There are times when I support my country, and times when I don't. And I don't have to agree with everything this giant country does as a collective. It's really pretty silly.

I owe this country nothing (beyond taxes), and it owes me nothing (beyond my tax refund). At no time am I required to like or not like something about it.

What almost scares me about this little, somewhat humorous exchange, is the notion that blatantly subscribing to nationalism via its self-promotional pride-for-the-sake-of-pride songs, is mandatory.

What were those last lines of the anthem again?

Something about home of the brave and land of the... of the... I guess that part does not apply to people with a different opinion eh?

I still stand by my initial opinion. The national anthem is not a good song from a (subjective) musical standpoint and has nothing to do with my political opinions.

What do you think? Does not liking a song about America make me into a terrorist-Nazi-Commy-traitor-socialist? And can I be redeemed if I enjoy America's "Horse With No Name?"


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Tags: national anthem america nationalism music politics pride nazi terrorist commy socialist

Ted Nugent: Anti-American Hypocrite

Going through Google Reader sunday morning led me to an article that renewed my intermittent shame on being lumped in with certain Americans, simply by being born here. Recently Ted Nugent (of Cat Scratch Fever Fame, and redneck stereotype) issued a statement in a column for the Waco Tribune-Herald:

Observe how the Obama media machine and soulless liberal media jumped on Rush Limbaugh’s comments that he “wanted Obama to fail.”

Anyone with a half a brain knows Rush wants only this: for America to succeed and for anti-American policies to fail. 

Someone with half a brain, sure. Someone with an entire brain sees how blatantly hypocritical that statement is, which I'll get to momentarily. But first off, how the hell do you know what Rush "really" means by his hate-mongering statement? To give it a quick psychological spin for a second, Ted, it is your interpretation of Rush's statements, combined with your own self-projection that give you this insight into what America's half-brained are thinking.

And what a way to add a fast, over-generalized character tarnishing:

"the Obama media machine and soulless liberal media". 

Do you just subscribe to the Rush Limbaugh eMail Talking-Point And Hate-Slander Newsletter? Congrats sir, you never have to form your own opinion again!

I'm so sick of the scapegoat phrase "liberal media" being used by those who feel that their ideas are being scrutinized for being poor ideas. That's right Ted, blame it on the faceless collective known as The Media (scary music plays). And since when is "reporting the news" distinctly liberal? Does that imply that not reporting the news is thereby the soulful conservative media?

So according to humanist philosopher "Nuge", for America to succeed, these so-called "anti-american" policies need to fail, eh? How about a little more enlightened progressive thinking? What if (and I know this sounds crazy), we try things that may have the potential to benefit the people of the country, regardless of whether those ideas are "American" or not? If it works, and society as a whole is more positive, taken care of, better educated and more productive, why can't we incorporate those ideas into what we are? Isn't progress American? Didn't progress get us to where we are today? (sans the Catholic church of course). Don't we want the best for ourselves? If you answered "yes" to any of these, then it seems your current ideology is outdated and is in need of restructuring to match the more socially progressive country we are slowly becoming. If the answer is "no", then you are anti-American, Mr. Scratch-Feverson.

To leave no doubt where I, your humble Motor City guitarslinger, stands, let me report without ambiguity, that I get down on bended knee daily and pray to God that he does what he can to ensure President Obama fails.

Humble, my ass. But yes, Ted, there is no doubt about your perspectives as you seem to want to create a laughable towering stereotype of yourself, that desperately conforms to any and all conceptions, and even misconceptions, of what a biased christian conservative republican redneck is.

To repeat: I pray for President Obama to fail.

What a douche (and I should probably add "redneck" again, since I rarely get to use the word). Not because his opinion and my opinion of the current president are possibly different. No, no. He is a douche for wanting the leader of the country he lives in to fail. Put it this way: If he did anything about this, as in made actions and plans to ensure that Obama will "fail", he is committing treason. Seriously. Now how American is that? Apparently very.

"I love America! I'm pro-America, and a patriot. . . for America! Now I want to see America suffer and crumble by praying to a supernatural divine authority that the current president, who does not share every one of my currently held views, will destroy this country through policies that are different from ones that were in place in the past, which scares me on the simple fact that they are different, thereby teaching him a lesson about his wrong-ness. . . and more importantly, my right-ness."

"What about all of the people who will be affected by his failure?"

"They need to learn their lesson too! They voted for a guy that I personally don't agree with. That'll show 'em! I need to be right."

Fuck, man. I was never a fan of Bush, like many, many others. I really don't talk about that much since it is such a redundant, trite topic. But even with my dislike of many the policies, ideologies and general personality of the former president, I never wished (since I don't pray) that he would fail. It's a simple trickle-down lesson. What do you think happens to us if the president fails? Good things? Rejoicing? Life lessons learned by all and then back to work as normal?

No. We get raped too. If our president literally fails, or our government literally fails, we, the people, feel the brunt of the storm. Therefore what the "Motor City guitarslinger" is really praying for (in terms of consequences), is that the American people fail, hurt, and shrivel up in as many ways as possible. God bless America! (Except for the president, and anyone who disagrees with you, or does things in a different way then you).

Yes, even though I personally disliked Bush, I still wanted him to do the best job he could. Why? Because it would be beneficial for me! This is important, so I'll repeat it: To wish the president will fail is to wish the American people will fail. In my book, that is truly anti-American. Oh! Burn! The sweet, sweet irony!

Like Rush, I wouldn’t want Obama to fail if his agenda weren’t built on feeding the gluttonous, unaccountable Fedzilla beast, so clearly the enemy of the free market, of real jobs and proven economic growth.

Since that is Obama’s agenda, however, those of us who believe in a limited federal government and the wondrous wealth-and-job-creating free market should hope, pray and work to ensure Obama’s anti-free market policies fall flat on their face.

Again, Theodore, you prove your amazing ability for direct insight into another human mind, this time with clairvoyance and precognition. Do you also read palms?

Hey reader! Were you aware there is only one proven way to achieve economic growth and create "real" jobs? (As opposed to those pesky phantom jobs). That would instantly make any other methods of economic growth or job creation complete bullshit right? Damn, the economy is so easy! Thanks Nuge!

Just for fun, let's pretend that the current model for doing business in America is not perfect. Just pretend. And now let's take it a step further and say that there are aspects of the current model for doing business that are being taken advantage of, and possibly causing harm to a large group of people. Should we still champion that philosophy as a whole? (Well yes, but still, should we?)

Just because aspects of something work, does not mean that everything about it does.

The free market philosophy has both strengths and weakness (like EVILution (yes, that is a joke)), as do other forms of doing business. We don't need to completely abandon one entire structure to implement ideas from another. Not every decision needs to be so black and white. "Either we are a democracy, or we are satanic, pedophiliac, mass-murdering shit-eaters!" Mmmmmmm. Feces.

One would have to be brain-dead to want to return to the economic doldrums of the Carter years and further embrace European-style socialism. But that’s where it appears America is headed with Obama in charge.

Not everything within a given ideology is inherently bad. Not every idea within Islam or Christianity promotes hatred of others (surprisingly). Not every movie by Michael Bay will be god awful (surprisingly). Some aspects of Socialism and yes, even communism, could actually be beneficial, if implimented in the right way.

Look at Denmark. Recent surveys say they are the happiest country in the world. Free health care and free higher education means smarter and healthier people. Is that an evil thing? If something works, despite its sociopolitical label, why should we not use it? Who cares what it's called, as long as the country is all the better for it. Oh, thats right. Teddington and Rushy-poo care.

As for Rush, his ratings have increased. More have tuned in to a wonderful show where the man entertains and informs us. He’ll take on the libs with half his brain tied behind his back, just to make it fair.

Wow, biased much? Now, I personally would have a hard time calling Rush, or his show "wonderful", but that is just my personal opinion, and entirely subjective. Teddy is welcomed to think that. Regardless of personal ideology, Rush is the last person I would put synonymously with human equality. He creates a strong "us and them" mentality for his listeners, which is similar to that of many of the wacky conspiracy theorists. He is a bastion of REgressive, instead of PROgressive social values, which incidentally are the ones that move us (get this) forward.

Ted spews out more of the "us and them" mentality coupled with the black and white dualistic approach by using the word "libs". Obviously short for liberals. Meaning anyone who is liberal about something, including recipes calling for salt and pepper. You and I know that everyone is easily categorized into two columns of good and bad, right and wrong. Now you see that anything that is liberal is pure badness. Oh, and stupid apparently. Don't forget stupid.

Yes, there are things that are considered Liberal that I don't think are great either. But does he not see that there are some conservative philosophies that are negative as well? Probably not, as Mr. "Gonzo" seems be the type of person who likes to subscribe fully to an ideology, even when there are things within it that could be proven negative or incorrect. This makes it easier for him to be identified in quick terminology, instead of being of being one of the ridiculous people who refuse to label themselves with the all-encompassing title of two blanket perspectives. I wonder what that reminds me of?

Remember your history and pray for President Obama to fail. I fear for America if we allow him to succeed.

Okay, you see that? That's the very thing I hate about people in the mind set of Douche Fuck: Texas Ass Cunt. He "fears" for America if he (Obama) succeeds. What does success really mean here? Let's say Obama puts his plan into action and they create no jobs and put the country further into economic anal sludge, oh and everyone is godless and soulless, can't forget that important thing (it's not actually important or relevant, yet Ted still makes that "point"). Would that be a success? I highly doubt it.

A success means, not only were Obama's "half a brain" leftist, other-trash-talking-insults policies implemented, but they actually worked. Helped people. Made jobs, money, health care, education, infrastructure, jelly beans, significantly better. That is success. And this zebra-striped machine-gun-holding jerky enthusiast is fearing for something that works? What a dick. What an arrogant self-righteous human-hating dick.

Many seem to have a very skewed idea of what America stands for and what it is supposed to be. In fact I'm sure we all have a slightly different vision. I personally would love to see a society that comes back to the idea that being intelligent is a good thing; that what is best for the whole and the individual can be balanced; that humans, and all humans, should always be the top priority; that progress should be embraced, if not encouraged and incentivized; and the promotion of new ideas and perspectives are seen as vital to our positive development as individuals and as a society.

Ted Nugent: your advocacy of failure for our president, country and people is fear-based, hateful, regressive and most off all, anti-American. You are a hypocritical treasonous douche bag, but are still completely within your rights to publicly express your dissenting opinion, thanks to your progressively-minded, freethinking, socially-liberal founding forefathers. You're welcome.


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