July 27, 2008
Springsteen: Silence Is Unpatriotic
Rock Star Answers Critics Who Say His Anti-War Album Is Unpatriotic
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Springsteen's War Songs
Bruce Springsteen tells Scott Pelley why the anti-war message on his new album is patriotic.
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Why Springsteen Still Sings
Bruce Springsteen tells Scott Pelley why he is still touring after all these years.
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Bruce Springsteen, left, talking to correspondent Scott Pelley. (CBS)
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Bruce Springsteen (CBS)
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"What's on your mind? What are you writing about?" Pelley asks.
"I guess I would say that what I do is I try to chart the distance between American ideals and American reality. That's how my music is laid out. It's like we've reached a point where it seems that we're so intent on protecting ourselves that we're willing to destroy the best parts of ourselves to do so," Springsteen says.
Asked what he means, Springsteen tells Pelley, "Well, I think that we've seen things happen over the past six years that I don't think anybody ever thought they'd ever see in the United States. When people think of the American identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping. They don't think of voter suppression. They don't think of no habeas corpus. No right to a lawyer … you know. Those are things that are anti-American."
"You know, I think this record is going to be seen as anti-war. And you know there are people watching this interview who are going to say to themselves, 'Bruce Springsteen is no patriot,'" Pelley remarks.
"Well, that's just the language of the day, you know? The modus operandi for anybody who doesn't like somebody, you know, criticizing where we've been or where we're goin'," Springsteen says. "It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to some place that you love so dearly. And that has given me so much. And that I believe in, I still feel and see us as a beacon of hope and possibility."
Springsteen sees himself following a long American tradition reaching back through Vietnam and on to the Great Depression.
"There's a part of the singer going way back in American history that is of course the canary in the coalmine. When it gets dark, you're supposed to be singing. It's dark right now," Springsteen says. "And so I went back to Woody Guthrie and Dylan and the people who said, say take Pete Seeger, who wants to know, doesn't want to know how this song sounds, he wants to know what's it for."
"What needs to be said, in this country at this moment, in your opinion, what needs to be said?" Pelley asks.
"I think we live in a time when what is true can be made to seem a lie," Springsteen says. "And what is lie can be made to seem true. And I think that the successful manipulation of those things have characterized several of our past elections. That level of hubris and arrogance has got us in the mess that we're in right now. And we're in a mess. But if we subvert, the best things that we're about in the name of protecting our freedoms, if we remove them, then who are we becoming, you know? Who are we, you know? The American idea is a beautiful idea. It needs to be preserved, served, protected and sung out. Sung out on a nightly basis. That's what I'm going to try to do."
Produced By John Hamlin
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See all 585 CommentsBruce, that''s why they call you the Boss. You go man!
We rock and rollers will always support a great cause this war is Unpatriotic. Keep up the good work Bruce, I have and will always be a fan of someone who speaks up for what he believes in, the rest can go to you know where.
It doesn''t suprise me that you''re not a Springsteen fan. You seem much more like a Debbi Boone type to me.
The problem is, libs, the left seems to think we can''t do that. Look at how you responded to the Dixie Chicks (who I loved)when their audience didn''t appreciate the comments by maines in London. Why, they were called facists because they had the nerve to boycott concerts and destroy cd''d THAT THEY BOUGHT!
So, bruce can mouth off, he has a stage and many will think his stand is brilliant. Those of us who don''t agree with him and say so will be villified by the so called enlightened left.
Welcome to 1984.
"It doesn''''t suprise me that you''''re not a Springsteen fan. You seem much more like a Debbi Boone type to me." posted by briannorwood
Hahahaha, that''s good.
Obviously, you don''t know how to read very well.
What Bruce is saying is that all of us (left and right) have a duty to be informed about what our government is doing, and speak out if we don''t like it.
It''s called Democracy!
And don''t give me "he''s from humble beginings" garbage.
Your argument is SO stupid it defies description. I hear this all the time from chickenshit rightwingers.
Let''s examine this on the surface; evil, scary islamic terrorists (not all Muslims mind you) have the desire to enslave the US and make us all servants. So how is the USA going to be ruled by islamic extremists? Are they going to amass at the Canadian border one night and invade Vermont? Do they have an air force? Do they even remotely have access to the industrial resources needed in order invade and conquer the US?
And do you think for one minute that the US Army, the most powerful in the world, is going to be defeated by what amounts to a bunch of undisciplined rednecks from Pakistan? Boys with hardly any training and rusty AK''s are going to overpower the entire Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine corp? We can even pretend that the Army is knocked out somehow by the gang that can''t shoot straight, but then there are also something like 300 million guns in the hands of US Citizens. You think they too will just give up in the first round?
It''s good to know that right wing nutcases have so much faith in our armed forces.
This is all the rabid Bush supporters have left in their ammo box; fear. There is NO logic whatsoever to the moronic claim that the terrorists are somehow going to defeat and conquer the US on our own soil and I laugh every time I see it printed.
Shut Up and Sing...Stick to the Knitting and what you do best as they say. I''m no longer interested in any thing you say, and more than likely, anything you release in the way of Song, given its all got a Political spin to it now. So sad from where you came from so long ago when you did sing of Love and the Road and Friendships and the like.
You and Neil Young should both go do something to prove your Patriotism to the Land you both claim to so Love...and he''s a Canadian, but claims he loves it here.
Funny how these big mouth know it all Rockers who have all the answers and directions for everyone else to follow rarely, if ever, have served their Country in any form.
Those who wish to leverage the idealized memory of Abe Lincoln should remember that he was wrong when he suspended Habeus Corpus and cruel when he wished for more bloody battles like Fredricksburg. He was also wrong when he silenced the Army from reporting losses during the Wilderness Campaign.
Posted by Xlib
What a total load of poo. The "left" doesn''t care if you burn up CDs that you''ve bought. I care much more that Ms Maines was given death threats for simply being a citizen and expressing opinions. I care much more that dissent is not viewed as dissent but as betrayal or treason.
Trust me--I''ve never once thought that any of the Hollywood right don''t have the right to have an opinion--even if it''s different than mine. The fascism comes in the repression of alternative points of view.
Have fun at the Toby Keith concert.
Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!
Posted by Xlib
Who said he was an expert? What makes you an expert? What makes 99% of the idiots on talk radio experts?
Nothing.
He''s claiming to be smarter that you--even though it''s pretty obvious he is--he''s allowed to have an opinion and he''s allowed to express it.
He put together some mighty fine players to make some real good music!
Why in the hell do you think the Founders put the First Amendment first? It''s for all of us, and it''s for speech that some might not like to hear.
If you don''t like what Bruce Springsteen has to say, then don''t listen.
teeus-sounds like the same old leftist garbage spewed out by the dems. And just what makes you think I like toby keith?? Just because I''m not enlightened like the smug, self serving left. How very judgemental of you. But, typical.
replace the "DOT" with a period "." to get there.
Top Mafia Figure, Tony Gambino, Implicates Vatican And Bush in Prior Knowledge And Complicity in 9/11 Mass Murder.
The $hit is going to hit the fan pretty soon--I hope the US citizens are ready!
Posted by jeepmanjr
Well, thank GOD that really insightful criteque has been posted.
Of course you wouldn''t know if Springsteen dropped off the planet. You''d actually have to pay attention to events around you.
A tall order, I know.
It doesn''t matter if you agree or not with Mr. Springsteen. What you can all agree on is your wonderful American freedom. He is free to speak and so are you.
You don''t know how lucky you are.
I don''t think someone is a fascist because they argue to disagree. The fascism comes in the repression of alternative points of view.
And the thing about Toby Keith? Dude. You need to lighten up.
It''s. A. Joke.
Posted by JCS7291
Uh oh. Someone''s tin-foil hat has slipped...
What is so "tinfoil" about truth?
"Tinfoil" is when you ignore, hide, and repress the truth.
Remember, "Silence is complicity" and you seem to want silence.
He was "BORN IN THE USA" but the task of govern the USA was set for George Bush and its not an easy task.....If Springsteen was an inteligent guy , and hes showing hes not, he would have noticed that this war wanst trigged by the US. Those terrorists of al-qaeda started it. Wiretapping,no habeas corpus,surveilance, and a lot of things are the only way to face this serious threat.It seems to me that Springsteen was brainwashed by the democrats propaganda in the last 6 years. He must know that democratics politician has invested so much money on this anti-war propaganda because they want to win the presidency in 2008, not to do good things, but to steal all the money they didnt steal in the Bill Clinton era.
I am allowed, however, to think you''re a whack-a-doodle, and to express THAT as often as I like.
You forgot to mention another reason the US went to war -- Because Bush needed to get re-elected. I don''t blame you for forgetting. People often do that when they''re brainwashed by the "Conservative Right".
I can say "____ is ____" if I can point to a relevant media or other source, or if I found a pattern of events and say "____ is ____ because of this pattern". Which may still very well be wrong, but at least has a point worth debating.
But I cannot say "____ is ____" just for the sake of it. It''s rather like saying "Nobody owes anyone anything".
(See?)
Case in POINT!
wwwDOTlawfulpathDOTcom/ref/sw4qw/indexDOTshtml
Replace the "DOT" with "." to get there.
teeus (or anyone else for that matter), do you want to comment on this?
Uh....no. Not really. The extended link didn''t work, but I did look at your website and it has nothing to do with Bruuuuuuuuuuuuce.
Rock on!!
Not one of them effectively rebut anything Bruce said, instead they devolve into talk radio hosts, hurling childish insults and unfounded, ridiculous comparisons.
Does every wingnut live in such a paranoid, insular world?
They have a diffent perspective than yours, and therefore they hate the United States? What nonsense. How closed minded of you. So, the only opinion that matters is yours? Wow. How...NOT American.
-What''s your point?
Chicago Tribune 10/2/07
Veterans, documents suggest U.S., Israel didn''t tell full story of deadly ''67 incident
For Lockwood and many other survivors, the anger is mixed with incredulity: that Israel would attack an important ally, then attribute the attack to a case of mistaken identity by Israeli pilots. And they''re also incredulous that, for years, their own government would reject their calls for a thorough investigation.
Their anger has been stoked by the declassification of government documents and the recollections of former military personnel, including some quoted in this article for the first time, which strengthen doubts about the U.S. National Security Agency''s position that it never intercepted the communications of the attacking Israeli pilots -- communications, according to those who remember seeing them, that showed the Israelis knew they were attacking an American naval vessel.
The documents also suggest that the U.S. government, anxious to spare Israel''s reputation and preserve its alliance with the U.S., closed the case with what even some of its participants now say was a hasty and seriously flawed investigation.
In declassifying the most recent and largest batch of materials last June 8, the 40th anniversary of the attack, the NSA, this country''s chief U.S. electronic-intelligence-gatherer and code-breaker, acknowledged that the attack had "become the center of considerable controversy and debate."
available athttp://www.nsa.gov/liberty .
Karl Marx wrote and Lenin implemented a policy of smearing adversaries by stating a falsehood repeatedly, believing if you say a lie enough times, it becomes the truth. There is a liberal movement in this country with spokeman like Bruce Springsteen, Sean Penn, George Soros and Alan Combs that is nothing short of an American Communist movement.
Karl Marx wrote and Lenin implemented a policy of smearing adversaries by stating a falsehood repeatedly, believing if you say a lie enough times, it becomes the truth. There is a liberal movement in this country with spokeman like Bruce Springsteen, Sean Penn, George Soros and Alan Combs that is nothing short of an American Communist movement.
It is funny, because the same people who say our liberty is "socialist" are the same ones who want to infringe but also FORCE YOU TO PAY FOR IT!. I could see if Bush''s surveillance (or even the war) were funded voluntarily. But these projects are socialist by their very means of funding.
Send the receipts for Bush (or Hillary''s) zany projects TO THEIR PROPONENTS ONLY. Then the free market will say who is right to promote them. Clearly the liberals and blood-fetish conservatives alike have great fear of the notion of even a simple democracy-of-money! It is too funny for words.
Bruce Springsteen is a political songwriter. You asked what about future Iraqi civilian deaths. What about the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens who''ve been killed by George Bush Jr.''s war (conservative estimates put the total at about 400,000)?
And what about all the Iraqi war veterans who are against the war? Should they sign up for your "corpse removal"?
Conservatives do NOT have a monopoly on patriotism. I am more well informed and patriotic than most conservatives, yet I know that the Iraq invasion was a huge mistake. It''s cost far too much money; too many lives; and distracted the United States from catching the real killer: Osama bin Laden. He was in Tora Bora, Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 and George Bush Jr. would NOT authorize enough troops to seal off the area, and he escaped. That''s an indisputable fact. Look it up. Then tell me how patriotic he is. Perhaps you might try reading a newspaper or a book about the subject. I suggest "Ghost Wars" by former CIA agent Steve Cole, or "Imperial Hubris" written by Michael Scheuer, the former head of the CIA''s "bin Laden" unit.
-You need to chill and get a grip.
There are bigger lies being told by bigger and more liars.
"They don''t think of no habeas corpus," he says, referring to the people being held by the U.S. government in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
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