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| Jason Jewell |
Those of us who can remember the atrocities that occurred on September 11, 2001 also remember the impact that day had on our nation. While I cannot recall the political climate or what things were really like before that tragic day, I could, and still can, feel the anger and fear that raged through nearly every American. Toby Keith is a popular country artist known for his outspoken political views and his patriotism. Following the attacks on our nation he wrote a song titled “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)”. Prior to 9-11 the United States experienced sporadic times of stable peace but nothing that was sustained. The 2000s seemed to be the coming of a new age and the beginning of a more peaceful time for America. The terrorist attacks on our country that day would forever change the course of our nation and would entrench us for several years in a glorified war. For over a decade peace served as a foreign concept and even now throughout the world we are entangled in unstable peace with the thought of war all too close to home.
Across the world soldiers have been honored and respected whether people agreed or disagreed with what they are fighting for. The song begins by highlighting how Americans are taught to revere soldiers, “American girls and American guys will always stand up and salute/We’ll always recognize when we see ole glory flying/There’s a lot of men dead/So we can sleep in peace at night when we lay down our heads.” From birth we are taught to thank soldiers for their service and that without them we wouldn’t be free. There are so many careers that we wouldn’t be able to live the same lives without but none that are as untouchable as soldiers. To criticize or disrespect a soldier is unpatriotic, un-American, and unacceptable in most American contexts. It is very difficult to hold soldiers in such high regard without in some way glorifying war and the killing of other people.
The support of a war comes from everyday people who believe in the war, and some could argue that countries use a culture of warism to fuel those beliefs. In his book From Warism to Pacifism, Dwayne Cady states, “Warism is the view that war is both morally justifiable in principle and often morally justifiable in fact.” The aftermath of September 11th gave President George Bush a 91% approval rating, the highest ever recorded. According to Chris Hedges's What Every Person Needs to Know About War, between 65% and 85% of all Americans will support a military action when it begins. Since children we have grown up in a society that has revolved around war, a society that taught us our very existence was based on our ability to fight and wage war against enemies. It has been ingrained in our heads that “freedom isn’t free”, that we must fight or somehow we would lose the very freedoms that we love. Naturally, after we were attacked those teachings kicked in; people working everyday jobs demanded violence, revenge, and war.
This song was a piece of this culture of warism. This song stood as a creed, as a fighting song for millions of people. Chris Hedges states, “War is often regarded by observers as honorable and noble. It can be viewed as a contest between nations, a chance to compete and be declared the victor.” The most honorable and noble wars are those that are considered by citizens to be “just wars”. In "Courtesy of the Red White & Blue" Toby Keith says, “Justice will be served and the battle will rage/This big dog will fight when you rattle his cage.” People including myself who were nothing more than a 6-year old boy felt that America must defend itself, that not only did we want to fight back but that we had to. I didn’t understand much of what was going on at that age but I understood that we had been attacked, and that someone had to pay for that.
A “just war” is one of the most powerful and dangerous concepts in the world. For a society to come together and state that these people not only deserve to die but killing them is the right thing to do is a force that we should be weary of. After 9-11, we had to go to war because it was the right thing to do; we had to seek out justice. In the aftermath, going to war and killing the people responsible was as justified as entering WWII. Often times war is government vs. government but when citizens begin to internalize that hatred, we find ourselves on a very fast slope to injustice. Growing up I listened to "Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue" with my Grandpa; we would wait every time for when the song built up and we would shout, “Cause we’ll put a boot in your ass/It’s the American way.” I internalized a hatred for people; I had been conditioned to seek revenge, and to never question why people acted the way they did but simply to punish them for doing it. That is the way we are raised as Americans; we don’t care why you did what you did; even if we caused the problem we will punish you for your actions. This can be applied to both the way we approach terrorists and also the way we approach incarceration in this country.
Sometimes music causes people to feel a certain way and other times it is a response to how people feel but no matter what it is always a very powerful tool. We have created a nation that not only believes in warism but one that glorifies war, that makes war something that is a part of life. As Americans we have become so accustomed to war that in most cases we have become calloused to the deaths of people around the world. I still hold many of those same sentiments that so many Americans have; I still believe in scouring the ends of the Earth to fight terrorism and to bring justice but I understand how war has taken us over. Music, television, and art all play a large part in our culture and that culture not only believes in warism but glorifies it.
Jason Jewell, of Louisville, Ky., is a freshman McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying political science and economics.
Jason Jewell, of Louisville, Ky., is a freshman McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying political science and economics.