Shut up and sing!

On September 11, 2001 tragedy struck on American soil and shook the country to its core. The 9/11 attacks made a permanent impact on America and left her people terrified and angry. The nation as whole was changed within a matter of hours as the entirety of the American people united in the defense of their county. The United States quickly went into retaliation mode with the full support of the American people, and a sense of near blinding patriotism spread throughout the nation.  Patriotism began to play a huge roll in American culture, including music.  Historically American popular culture had always criticized the government in matters such as war. However, it was now considered unacceptable to be anything but patriotic. Anyone or anything that was not fully supportive of the United States was met with fear, and hostility, and classified as un-American. The country music group the Dixie Chicks experienced the full force of this hostility when Natalie Maines made the comment that the Dixie Chicks did not agree with the president and they were ashamed that he was from Texas during a live concert in London. When the news of the comment leaked the American people became outraged and the band was labeled un-American by many. Country music and Country music fans turned their backs on the Dixie Chicks as the media crucified them for their un-American behavior. 

In the past, the music in the United States that was released during war time was often protest music, which expressed the people’s disagreement with the government. However, post 9/11 music, along with the rest of American culture, took on a very patriotic and supportive stance. No other genre of music reflected the feeling of patriotism among the American people more than country music. That is why America was so shocked and upset to hear that the Dixie Chicks, country music’s most popular group at the time, could be so un-American. The band had gone from number one to the most hated music group in America almost overnight. They had given a statement saying that the comment made was not meant to be any kind of political statement but was meant to entertain the crowed. The girls had explained what had happened and exclaimed their love for America but no one seemed to care. The nation’s hatred for the group remained. What should have been the small problem of a rude comment had snowballed into a full on national boycott of the group. Several radio stations banned their music and many members of the public media began to badmouth the group. The things said about the Dixie Chicks were cruel and hurtful.

The American people’s right to freedom of speech permits Natalie Maines to speak her mind about the president, and public media to speak their mind about the Dixie Chicks. However it would seem that the Dixie Chicks are being punished while the media continues to bash the girls. The backlash the Dixie Chicks experienced after speaking their minds set an example of what would have happened to people who spoke out against President Bush or the war at this time. It seemed that while you still have your right to freedom of speech, using it would come with a cost. The girls were not alone in their feelings against the war. However after witnessing what had happened to the Dixie Chicks, other artists were afraid to use their freedom of speech to speak out against it. No one wanted what happened to the Dixie Chicks to happen to them. This was evident in the actions that many artists took in preventing their music from seeming un-patriotic. Many artists stopped performing certain songs. Artist removed songs from albums that they thought might be deemed un- patriotic. In this way what happened to the Dixie Chicks and the politics at the time had a great effect on music. What we learn from this is how the media is able to manipulate people to prevent them from speaking out on certain subjects while still retaining their freedom of speech.

Social life in America rotates a lot around fads. When something all of a sudden becomes popular it’s common to see large chunk of people “jump on the band wagon” so to speak. That is to say when something all of the sudden becomes really popular everyone starts joining in and taking part in it. This happens all the time with music. When a no name band lets out a song that becomes a huge hit they gain diehard fans overnight. Everyone starts following that group not because they have always liked them but because it is now popular among society to like that group. The same thing happened to the Dixie Chicks when all of a sudden their names were plastered all over TV. It suddenly became extremely popular to hate the Dixie Chicks. The popularity in being involved in the Dixie Chick debacle only increased when Tobey Keith was introduced into the equation. Toby Keith began to aggressively target the Dixie Chicks for being un-patriotic. He was very out spoken about his hatred for them and this gained a lot of attention. A battle broke out between the two musical groups and every one took notice. There is nothing America likes more than a good old fashion battle between two opposing sides. The battle between the two musicians quickly brought even more people to jump on the band wagon. Now it was about sides. You were either on team Toby Keith or Team Dixie Chicks.  

            After 9/11, patriotism became a huge part of the American culture. The war was highly supported by the people in the time immediately following 9/11. The music that was released at this time reinforced these feelings. People have always been able to form a strong connection with music and it often can inspire strong feelings and emotions. Music has been used in politics now for years as a way to connect with specific groups of people and inspire a sense of trust in the government. Today the feelings on the war and the president are very different and so is music. There are many songs out there today which express antiwar beliefs.  The Black Eyed Peas song “Where is the Love” is very antiwar and was released not long after what happened to the Dixie Chicks. “Where is the Love” is also a very popular song for my generation. My generation is also much more against the Iraq war. Music is an important part of politics in America and when used correctly and at the right time can greatly effect politics and the American people.