Neil Young: A Republican?!
Greendale Film still
An interesting discussion on whether Neil Young is a Republican over on Pearl Jam Message Pit. The question was posed regarding some of Neil's previous statements and the song "Let's Roll" from Are you Passionate?. Poster RUST1978 responds:
"That song ["Let's Roll"] was recorded days after 9/11, and it was his gut reaction (much like his gut reaction to the Kent State Killings, 'Ohio'). If you remember, almost everyone was "united" in the war on terror before the Iraq mess. Even Springsteen has said he supported the war in Afghanistan before the Iraq war. Neil Young has always reacted to the moment, and that is why he is so prolific a songwriter and has stayed so relevant. He has always reacted to what he perceives as injustice. Whether that injustice was the National Guard firing on students, the many crimes during the Nixon Administration, the 9/11 attacks, or the state of the nation and the war on terror during this administration ("Greendale").
What Neil Young wrote for the Greendale album should not "disappoint" you because of how it differs from his initial reaction to the 9/11, for many around the world felt the same way, but that solidarity faded as the current administration changed its ambitions. Neil Young came to the same conclusion of many, that the Bush administration had misused the war on terror and the broad support for it to enact unfavorable domestic and foreign policy (i.e. The Patriot Act, and the Iraq War). He has simply returned to the subject to lend a critical eye, something many were afraid to do."
Other posts zero in on "Let's Roll" lyrics "going after Satan on the wings of a dove" arguing that they should not be taken as a pro-war song, but a tribute to a specific act of bravery.
This argument is challenged with the lyrics as demonstrating that Neil is pro-war:
So I dove into the darkness,
And I let my missles fly.
And they might be the ones,
That kept you free.
More on Neil Young's politics and today's and political music.
by thrasher@PermaLink: 9/09/2004 11:37:00 PM
14 comments
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14 Comments:
Gee, I'm a republican (I love the W)and i'm a Neil Young freak. Is that really odd?
For God's sake, War is sometimes needed. If George Bush didn't attack Iraq, it would not be a democratic country now. Think about it. War is sometimes neccesery. Romans used to say "If you want peace, prepare for war" I believe in this and i hope Neil too. So.. some missiles might be the ones,
That kept you free. Thanks to war in Afganistan and Iraq.. these countries are now fully democratic.
By democracy you mean Bush puppet regime, right?
Rome was an empire. Bush wants the US to be an empire... just take a good moment to think about how the rest of the world feels about that.
Well. iraq is now fully democratic country, Afganistan also. People there are free and i m sure they feel better. Hussain is captured, 70% of talibans were captured - the world is safer.. If a lot better.
* I feel a lot better (I mean)
How can a country be "democratic" when its leaders want to approve a constitution that is based on the Koran?? They are headed for an Islamic theocracy. While I agree the war in Afghanistan was needed the war in Iraq has not made the USA safer. Quite the opposite. It has diverted money, resources, and man power from basic domestic security measures and misspent them on a war that has only resulted in the best recuiting tatic that Al-Queda could have hoped for. Look what happened in Great Britian the past couple of weeks! How long do you think it will be before they strike again here? Our ports and transportation systems are marginally safer today(at best) then they were on 9/11. What have they done to safeguard our water supplies? The electrical grid? Our nuclear power or chemical plants?
just because some of neil's songs can contain seemingly pro war lyrics,does that mean he is republican? can't you be pro war& a democrat? rockin' in the free world can be interpreted as critical of western society/globalisation.
"a war that has only resulted in the best recuiting tatic that Al-Queda could have hoped for." That's a very inaccurate statement. Most of the rest of what you said is at least reasonable, but that isn't. That statement disregards the fact that an evil man with a stronghold over 50 million people(or whatever their population is) is now behind bars. Whether or not that in itself was worth the price in lives and money is certainly debatable. Your statement also leans very close to the idea that we should not fight terrorism because they'll fight back. Surely you don't believe al-Queda would've called it quits if the US hadn't attacked Iraq.
Somebody has to do the heavy lifting and it is usually the USA. Let's face the facts that cruise ship terrorst hijackers of the Akili Laro fled to Iraq, Saddam was paying the families of suicide bombers $25000 and one of the 9/11 conspirators fled to Iraq. If Bush had immediately declared marshall law, immediately taken care of Faluja & Sader city this war would have been over a long time ago. Apparently we have learned nothing from our own history. Polititians making war strategy and the paris peace accords where Vietnam strung us along for years just so they could rebuild their forces while our politicians played political correct games. Do the job and get out. I want my children to keep on rockin in a free world.
i didn't know about that $25,000 dollars thing. i'm afraid though that the anonymous that posted on7/30 was correct. When Saddam was dictator over 25,000,00 people, it was a secular country. That means it had women in political power. Now as it stands right now from what i've read from various sources, it's still okay to cut the clitoris off a woman and still not secular with the current constitution.
Personally, i don't think Neil Young is a republican because i'm watching his film right now. And i think he believed that Iraq was the actual force behind 9/11. But then again i think i remember him on FOX talking about how he likes hunting and he was a conservative. but that doesn't make sense.
plus he was for a war that took down the people that took our towers down. besides what the Czech's intelligence say it doesn't seem that Saddam did. Which is why approval rating are down at the bush camp.
anyway we put Saddam in power in the first place and sponsored jihad groups to begin with. When Saddam wouldn't play ball with America's trade embargo of our grain for his oil, that's when shit hit the fan. That's how wars get started. Come on people lets face the REAL facts here.
Actually that wasn't him on FOX
And Neil Young is NOT A REPUBLICAN, he is the antithesis of one.
His film is great by the way anyone who hasn't seen it should.
I'm confused. Neil Young's songs from 20 or 30 years ago show that he is/ was propeace.
Now his songs show otherwise.
How can you be both propeace and prowar?
Is it possible?
5Years of reflection later, Neil Young writes "Impeach the President" - sounds like a common theme in 2006.
Man all you fools need to listen michael moore film about the 9\11
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