Country rocker warbles a shocker

0 Comments | Insight on the News, August 19, 2002 | by John Elvin

Though he hadn't made the Talkers magazine top 10 as of this writing, country-rock singer Steve Earle certainly propelled himself in that direction with the release of "John Walker's Blues," a decidedly unpatriotic and anti-Christian ode comparing John Walker Lindh, the young Californian captured while serving with the Taliban, to Jesus.

"This puts him in the same category with Jane Fonda and [convicted spy] John Walker and all those people who hate America," commented Nashville radio personality Steve Gill, as reported by Reuters news agency. Gill also said he expects a major anti-Earle movement to get rolling as more people become aware of the comparison to Jesus. Another Nashville disc jockey, Phil Valentine, was quoted by Fox News as characterizing Earle's release of the song as "politically insane."

Earle, a self-declared Marxist who is outspoken on many political and social issues, has his defenders, of course. The song "speaks of the U.S. demonization of anyone who would go against the traditional American way," Joan Hirsch, manager of Revolution Bookstore in New York City, told the New York Post. On his Website, Earle jokes that he is not trying to get himself deported. He says he is protesting against America's disappearing freedoms. While asserting that he does not "condone what [Lindh] did," he feels there is some excuse because "the culture here didn't impress him, so he went out looking for something to believe in."

Earle, a winner of eight Grammys, has been trying to rebuild his career since serving prison time in the 1990s for possession of heroin. Lindh is serving 20 years in prison as part of a plea bargain; he could have faced the death penalty.