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Saturday 
16 August 2008
History Repeating
They say that history repeats itself. In fact someone’s been saying this, in one way or another, since the 16th century.
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.
…in the case of the Bush II era, it seems to me, it’s been the exact opposite. It was a farce that we could still laugh about, a little, when the Democrats failed to prevent a buffoon like GW from ascending to power and maintaining it, but now the many tragedies seem all too clear and are no laughing matter at all.
Come on, admit it, we were all entertained by The Complete Bushisms for quite a while, and we didn’t initially start screaming when we watched The Daily Show. But as the Iraq/Afghanistan/Katrina body counts started to rise along with the Earth’s temperature, the price of gasoline, and inflation, the scale of things have clearly reached tragic proportions.
No, there can be little disputing the concept that history repeats, all too often in horrible, horrible ways, and I’m not just talking about the resurgence of bell-bottoms. It’s fitting to include Marx’s version of this saying here as I segue into plugging two movies that highlight a particularly disturbing repeat.
First, a former fan of Marx’s, Pete Seeger, is honored in a wonderful film available now on DVD.
This film brought tears to my eyes a number of times, moved by the man, his life, and his music. With incredible old footage and interviews with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Arlo Guthrie, Joan Baez, etc., a story unfolds that perfectly captures the sentiment in Howard Zinn’s famous line, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”
It’s fitting that another musician interviewed in the Seeger film is Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks, who got her own taste of blow back for an act of Zinnian patriotism:
We need to be vigilant, folks. As Natalie Maines says, “You can’t just say you have rights. You have to use them.”
To tie this altogether, change a few words in this song of Pete’s from 1966 and the repetition of history will slap you in the face.
If you love your Uncle Sam,
Bring them home, bring them home.
Support our boys in Vietnam,
Bring them home, bring them home.It’ll make our generals sad, I know,
Bring them home, bring them home.
They want to tangle with the foe,
Bring them home, bring them home.They want to test their weaponry,
Bring them home, bring them home.
But here is their big fallacy,
Bring them home, bring them home.I may be right, I may be wrong,
Bring them home, bring them home.
But I got a right to sing this song,
Bring them home, bring them home.Even if they brought their planes to bomb,
Bring them home, bring them home.
Even if they brought helicopters and napalm,
Bring them home, bring them home.Show those generals their fallacy:
Bring them home, bring them home.
They don’t have the right weaponry,
Bring them home, bring them home.For defense you need common sense,
Bring them home, bring them home.
They don’t have the right armaments,
Bring them home, bring them home.The world needs teachers, books and schools,
Bring them home, bring them home.
And learning a few universal rules,
Bring them home, bring them home.So if you love your Uncle Same,
Bring them home, bring them home.
Support our boys in Vietnam,
Bring them home, bring them home.
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Had Pete Seeger come around circa 2003 he would have been assassinated by one of those “patriotic” Americans that threatened the Dixie Chicks for comments of being ashamed Bush was from Texas. I could see redneck Texans getting bent out of shape, but the whole country music “fan base”?
Of course, the Dixie Chicks are from the same liberal commie smelly hippy town I’m from so I’m a sympathizer. And my unwavering love for Natalie continues to this day due to her feud with that total douchebag Toby Keith.
Even today, the media fails to criticize Bush and they treat McCain the same way. Just as in It can’t happen here the media knows their place. If they want access. They tow the line.
Combine that with outlets like Fox News with its constant flag waving and seeing anyone that says anything critical of the official talking points. Makes me want to puke.