An OKIE Speaks

Merle Haggard. "I'm Proud to be an OKIE from MUSKOGEE". Red White and now much more Blue than he used to be. He commented in the article printed in the Sun Times today that a few years ago when everyone turned right he turned left. I think with him it's more than just being an iconoclast.

He is like a lot of us who have traversed time and remember a few painful lessons of the past. As my brother John used to quote constantly, "Those who fail to remember the past are condemned to repeat it". He had a poster which hung on his dorm wall. Others had Farah Faucett. He had George Santayana. The Okie may have a point we need to hear.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/rock/sho-sunday-hag20.html

"It's a question of mine," Haggard said. "If we're going to die in wars somewhere every day and fight for freedom, it [freedom] shouldn't be some watered-down version like we're living in now. We've added so many different levels of security here at home, they're fighting with each other. We should adapt some of the arrogance of our president and stand straight up again. That's what the song is about."

Then Haggard sang, "...After a soldier fights / should we read him his new rights? / There's not that many to read anymore / Where's all the freedom we're fighting for?"

He continued, "The reason we have these soldiers dying all over the world is so we can be free here. And we're not free! There's so many different levels of police that have been added since Sept. 11 that we can't afford. Why do we want to break the airlines? Why are we so in tune with everything happening in North Korea, but nobody knows what's happening in Phoenix? There's roads and bridges to be fixed in this country. This is a country that's worn down. This is democracy supposedly in its best form, and we're not getting that kind of reality here."

If you read my blog you will my recall the tirade against the TSA. Phony baloney security designed to give the impression of safety but in fact accomplishing nothing but harassment. The elephant stampede brigade has accomplished the same effect. The TSA advocates always trot out the same blather. "We haven't been attacked since 9-11". I haven't been run over by a herd of elephants either. I know, we were attacked on 9-11. In some places in the world people were run over by elephants. I don't disagree with the effort. I disagree with the emphasis of form over function.

If you have traveled internationally as I have post terrorism you don't see the kind of window dressing bullying of passengers in Germany or Israel that you do here. Who's more secure?

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose, nothing don't mean nothing if it ain't free"; we are reaching that point. You are about to be made free to do nothing.