Discussion for article #230088
Maybe rather than being outraged at a song that tackles how rich menâs children donât get sent off to war to die Conservatives could do something smart like actually contemplate how unfair war is to our society.
Of course, that requires empathy, and the Conservatives have a heart smaller than the Grinchâs before Christmas.
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Epstein contended, because âFortunate Sonâ is "an anti-draft song,
No itâs not. It is a song that speaks to young men like the Romney boys not being called upon to serve. Many young men, among them my own cousins avoided service in Vietnam by joining the National Guard if their daddies could pull favor and garner an enlistment. Others, like the Dick ⢠Cheney were simply "busy doing other things at the time.
These âFortunate Sonsâ are as much a slap to men like me who enlisted and those who were drafted as anything Jan Fonda did in Hanoi, perhaps even more of a slap.
I want to state emphatically that no one hates war more that those of us who served. Epstein and his frothing at the mouth right-wing zombies seem to believe that our flag stands for war. It does not. It stands for resolve and resilience in the face of war.
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âThe song, not to put too fine a point on it, is an anti-war screed, taking shots at âthe red white and blue,ââ wrote Ethan Epstein at The Weekly Standard.
No, the song takes shots at war-mongering zealots who never send their own kids as cannon fodder, like Ethan Epstein.
And people like Ethan Epstein just canât stand having their chicken hawk proclivities challenged, because it makes them look like the people they truly are.
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EMINEM aLReady SPOiLed OUr sOLDiers VALOr by DROppiNg the F bomb 100 TImes. Who taLKS LIKE that? ServiceMEN and wOmen? DOubtfuL. WHY dOES LIberaLs spOIL good TIMEs WIth SONGs abOUT how BAD war IS and aCTING liKE bLACK tHUGHS ratHER THAn vALOUrous ServiceMEN wHO DOnât SWEAr!!!1!!!one!!1!!!
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My father is a Korean Navy vet, my grandfather a WWII Army vet, my great uncle a WWI vet, and in fact I have direct descendents who served during every war going back to the French and Indian.
And I donât think any of them would have an issue with this. Fortunate Son is about the ones who get OUT of fighting because of privilege. and supports those who have to go to fight.
It is a song for the veterans, and even if it is against a war (not all war) it still supports the men and women who fought that war.
Lastly, to the idiot who asked why Springsteen would play politics with this, the whole thing is politics. The âsupport the troopsâ theme is a political theme, and is meant to stifle dissent in general and about military spending and actions in particular. If we canât discuss when and where to send the troops, then we certainly have no right to honor them.
I say all this as someone who did not serve in the military, but as one who flies a flag every day outside his home. I did before 9/11 and have every day since. I participate in Memorial Day and Flag Day and Veterans Day every year.
But I reserve the right to criticize the use of our military without being told that I am dishonoring the men and women who do the fighting.
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As anyone who has mastered the art of adult literacy can tell, the lyrics below do not âtake shots at the red white and blue,â but rather at those who wave it but have other people do the fighting for them â the point of the whole song. Since this attacks people who donât fight our wars and clearly sympathizes with those who do, it is entirely appropriate for a concert for veterans.
Some folks are born, made to wave the flag
Ooo, their red, white and blue
And when the band plays âHail to the Chiefâ
Ooo, they point the cannon at you, Lord
It ainât me, it ainât me, I ainât no senatorâs son, son
It ainât me, it ainât me, I ainât no fortunate one, no
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Completely illegible. If you want to say something, please type in a way we can read.
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Oh Conservatives⌠this song is originally a CCR song, written during Vietnam⌠this song is about so many people, and one of them probably GW Bush, but not just him, so get over it.
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While itâs dumb to say Fortunate Son is an âanti war screed,â Springsteen probably should have known how the conservative rage machine would see this (especially considering his history with the right-wing misinterpreting his own music).
In the early '80s, Springsteen played a big role in promoting the plight of Vietnam Veterans, which is more than most conservative blowhards ever did.
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Ah, the straw men and circle jerks grow thick following the 37% old, white mandateâŚeverything but policy.
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This is very good reporting.
I did not know that John Fogerty is, in fact, a veteran himself.
The statement being made through the lyrics are the words of a veteran honoring the sacrifices of his fellow soldiers while questioning whether it was worth it, and whether the war would have been fought if the people who made the policy were sending their own sons into harms way.
Thatâs a completely appropriate message for Veterans Day, and the fact that they were honoring a veteran (John Fogerty) by singing his song makes it all the better.
Just once, Iâd like to see the flag wavers at Fox direct their outrage at the Republican Congress than will not appropriate enough funds to care for the veterans they claim to care so deeply about. No, better to express their false-patriotism by decrying the performance of a song written by a veteranâthat doesnât cost the Fox folks anything.
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Iâm guessing he did know how theyâd see it, and was fine with that. They can make faces at him all day long and heâs still Bruce Springsteen.
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This is amazing. Iâm pretty sure itâs a parody of the Freeper style of commenting, and if so, bravo sir or madame, bravo.
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That is correct. Youâd be surprised how many people get fooled, though.
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Thank you for your service and thank you for this.
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Itâs not anti-war. Itâs pro-troop. But then again, comprehension is a liability when you write for the right.
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Speaking of vets, Eustace has been here for quite a while and has been providing comedy for many, many, years. Hell, I even remember the days when Eustace wasnât dead.
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And here we see the legacy of the Chickenhawks live on, wrapping themselves in the Flag because someone pointed out they have no clothes on.
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good grief⌠iâm going to need a spreadsheet to track all of these daily outragesâŚ
(i really hope this isnât the gop strategy for the next two years; itâs going to be exhausting)
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