Celebrities counter the war

Humanist, July-August, 2003 by Erika Waak

The few celebrities who have boldly spoken out against the U.S. war on Iraq function as the only voice the Democratic Party has, since congressional democrats were mostly silent during the war. Perhaps politicians are wary of the extreme criticism that these celebrities have encountered from the U.S. media, which generally claims that those who stood in opposition to the war or President George W. Bush are morally irresponsible and unpatriotic. However, despite the media's attempts at portraying these celebrities as losing support and even receiving ridicule, media exposure has kept them in the public eye and stimulated curiosity. Moreover, sales of compact disks, books, and films of these dissenters have increased and changed careers for the better. And such "unpatriotic" celebrities are fulfilling a civic duty by representing those Americans who are too frightened to voice their own opposition but are speaking out with their dollars.

Among the celebrities is Natalie Maines, a Texas native who is the lead singer of the country music trio, the Dixie Chicks. She stirred the most attention when she told the audience at a London, England, concert on March 10, 2003, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." As a result, media with close ties to Bush reacted with a vengeance. The prime example is Clear Channel, a Texas-based monopolistic corporation and owner of more than 1,200 radio stations throughout the United States. Clear Channel promotes radio host Glenn Beck, an organizer of de facto pro-war rallies and hate campaigns against antiwar performers, including the Dixie Chicks.

Because of this, the Dixie Chicks suffered a sharp drop in national radio airplay. According to the April 21, 2003, issue of the Star, one radio chain, Cumulus Media, even arranged for a tractor to crush Dixie Chicks CDs, tapes, and videos. Other organizations sponsored bonfires where their CDs were destroyed. This is a disconcerting reminder of cultural purges like historical book burnings and the destruction of the Iraqi national library, archives, and museums. Yet despite the controversy, the sales of Dixie Chicks CDs and concert tickets have increased. According to USA Today, as of April 24, 2003, the group's latest CD, Home, remains the top-selling album on the Billboard country chart--19 weeks at Number 1--and Number 30 on the pop chart." Their agent, Rob Light, told Billboard that week that, of their upcoming fifty-nine shows, only six had seats left and those were all 85 to 90 percent sold.

On the eve of their U.S. tour on April 24, 2003, the Dixie Chicks appeared on ABC's Primetime Thursday for an interview with Diane Sawyer. Maines said, "Am I sorry that I asked questions and that I just don't follow? No." She and the other band members--sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison--also told Sawyer that the consequences of Maines' comments were too harsh and that they've always supported U.S. troops, even though they question the U.S. war on Iraq. After receiving death threats, Maguire said, "I'm concerned about my safety ... At our concerts this year, we have to have metal detectors, and to me that's just crazy."

On the May 2, 2003, cover of Entertainment Weekly, the three Dixie Chicks appear naked under the headline "The Dixie Chicks Come Clean" with words such as "Boycott," "Traitors," "Proud Americans," and "Dixie Sluts" printed on their bodies. The New York Post reported Maguire as saying, "It's not about the nakedness ... It's about clothes getting in the way of labels." On his website, rock singer Bruce Springsteen defended the group's right to say what they believe:

   The Dixie Chicks have taken a big hit lately
   for exercising their basic right to express
   themselves. To me, they're terrific American
   artists expressing American values by using
   their American right to free speech. For
   them to be banished wholesale from radio
   stations, and even entire radio networks, for
   speaking out is un-American. The pressure
   coming from the government and big business
   to enforce conformity of thought concerning
   the war and politics goes against
   everything that this country is about--namely
   freedom.

Another more political celebrity who has been shafted for his public opposition to the U.S. war on Iraq--and has subsequently experienced a rise in his career as a documentary film director and writer--is Michael Moore. At the seventy-fifth annual Academy Awards ceremony on March 23, 2003, Moore received an Oscar for his documentary, Bowling for Columbine, which attempts to answer why American culture is steeped in gun violence and fear. Upon receiving the award, Moore said:

   We live in a time where fictitious election
   results give us a fictitious president. We are
   now fighting a war for fictitious reasons.
   Whether it's the fiction of duct tape or the
   fictitious "Orange Alerts," we are against this
   war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush,
   shame on you. And, whenever you've got the
   pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your
   time is up.