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| John King is a graduate student and writes 'King's Eye Land' for the Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. |
Baseball: America's national pastime is back.
Thanks to patriotism, country music star Lee Greenwood's career is too.
Greenwood will sing his hit "God Bless the U.S.A." before today's opening-day game between the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates. Luckily, I'll be in attendance. Greenwood's song has hit the charts three times since its 1984 release. Some people think it's our national anthem.
In mid-March, the song was played at a rodeo in Austin, Texas. A group of fans stood reverently, as one would for "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Felix Fanaselle, a 16-year-old boy with dark skin, did not stand. Within moments, beer and spit were raining down upon him.
"Go back to Iraq," the patriots yelled. "Go back to where you came from."
Actually, Felix is a Hispanic-Italian from Austin.
Doesn't it stir the heart? Aren't you proud to be an American, where at least people know they're free (to be ignorant and spit on minorities)?
I really want a flag now. How about you?
Greenwood's commercial patriotism has prompted rednecks to confuse him with Francis Scott Key. But Greenwood isn't the only country star to cash in on patriotism.
Confirming his own ignorance, Alan Jackson sings about how he doesn't know the difference between Iran and Iraq in "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)?"
That's OK. I don't know the difference between a redneck and a fool -- but I can find the Middle East on a map.
Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)" comes with bonus hate speech: "And you'll be sorry you messed with the U.S. of A. /'cause we'll put a boot in your ass; it's the American way."
So, violence is American. Let freedom ring.
You know, George Orwell would've loved Toby Keith. ("War is peace," "Ignorance is strength," "Freedom is slavery," etc.)
Best of all, Darryl Worley's pro-war "Have You Forgotten?" does a bang-up job of spreading the unproven yet curiously popular connection between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.
"Have you forgotten when those towers fell? We had neighbors still inside going through a living hell/And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden/Have you forgotten?"
I swear the only way to watch CMT is on mute.
First, who suggested not worrying about Osama bin Laden? Our government's perceived lack of concern for bin Laden is one of the main objections to the war in Iraq.
Saddam does not equal Osama. Saddam and bin Laden both hate the United States, but they also hate each other. Bin Laden recently called Saddam an "infidel." That's Islam's greatest insult.
Saddam is a secular, power-hungry nutcase from Iraq. Bin Laden is a religious radical from Saudi Arabia -- two different people, folks.
Funny, how nobody tells these country music stars to shut up, despite their ignorance of world affairs and their hate speech. (But how dare Natalie Maines have an opinion!)
So, do I stand for a country song, or do I reserve my patriotism for "The Star- Spangled Banner" or "God Bless America" (and risk having beer poured on me)?
Tough call, really, because if I stand up, peace-thinkers might urinate on my shoes.
(Neither side is perfect. God bless the U.S.A.)
Solution: I'll show up late, buy a hot dog, and enjoy baseball -- what's really American -- for an afternoon.
Write to John at kingseyeland@bsu.edu
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