Have any of you heard that song about Freedom Fries? I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't. I don't think it's been written yet. I might try my hand at it.
Do you remember the run up to the war with Iraq? Back then, some in the US Congress were so blinded by the "hate us for our freedoms" argument that they wanted to change the name of "French Fries" to "Freedom Fries", because the French government dared to question our desire to go to war with Iraq. Back then you were either with us or against us.
The sabre rattling continues as it appears that our elite are pushing the U.S. towards war with Iran.
I wonder if it will be called a kinetic action or some such? Perhaps another humanitarian intervention? Or will we reach for the cause of supporting Freedom and Democracy?
Our government seems to like Freedom and Democracy a lot...except for when it doesn't.
Iran continues to be demonized here, to make it easier for the rest of us to accept the idea that something must be done about them. That those "madmen" in power over there must be stopped. And we need to help the people of Iran realize their quest for self-determination, freedom and democracy.
But many of us don't know that back in 1953 the US and British intelligence agencies overthrew a popular democratically elected government in Iran. And subsequently installed the Shah as leader in that country. The Shah ruled with an iron first for the next 25 years, until the Iranian Revolution of 1978-1979 removed him from power. So much for our love of freedom and democracy. We overthrow a democratic government and install a dictatorship. This was done because we didn't like the way the democratic government was governing. And we wanted a ruler that would do our bidding.
Many of us in the US don't know or don't understand that history. But I can imagine that the people of Iran are quite well aware of what happened. Now take just a moment and let that sink in. Then ask yourself the question: "How would we feel here if some foreign country overthrew our government and installed someone more to their liking?"
I'm sensing a replay of 2002 - 2003 all over again. Where a fair amount of time was spent demonizing Iraq (weapons of mass destruction, mushroom clouds, Saddam's a bad guy), over and over again, until it seemed that we just had to do something. Replace Iraq with Iran and it's the same movie.
The only real question now, is since we've seen this unfold before, are we going to allow the wool to be pulled over our eyes again; or will we have a sufficient amount of skepticism to make our leaders slow their roll this time.
During the Bush administration, they used to love to tell us that "they hate us for our freedoms". And many of us bought that argument. The truth that not many dared to speak, was that "they" actually hate us for our policies. "They" hate what we do to them. "They" hate our support for dictators that oppress them.
And now with multiple conflicts raging, seemingly just about everywhere that there's a resource to covet; do we really need to involve this country in yet another military adventure?
There was a time where this country listened to the wisdom of John Adams and didn't go out abroad seeking monsters to destroy. Now, I wasn't around back then, but it sure sounds like some good advice to me.
But maybe people will be more interested in songs of glory being written about our conquest of the entire planet instead. I hope that's not where we end up, but it certainly appears to be where we're headed. I'm trying to change the tune, and I hope more artists will join me.
I'm a singer songwriter exploring the human condition through song. I enjoy love songs, and party songs as much as the next person, but I also think that there should be songs about poverty, justice, the environment, politics, all the things that impact our lives. So in addition to writing about these things in songs, I also try to encourage conversation with my opinion on things that are happening. You might agree, you might disagree, but it's important to open space for dialogue.