A few thoughts on “supporting the troops” and a Veteran’s Day playlist
For different folks the phrase “Support the Troops” has different meanings. For some this means jingoistic support of every last action by our troops and their Commander-in-Chief. For others, like me, “support” means the same as “save,” as in, “bring them home.” I believe Johnny Cash felt the same way. On the episode of his show from November 11, 1970- exactly 40 years ago- he recited an impassioned poem detailing the bleak history of warfare throughout the world and followed this by performing Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” which was, of course, among the most well-known protest songs of the previous decade.
In another tune, “Singin’ in Viet Nam Talkin’ Blues,” penned after a trip to entertain the troops overseas, Cash sang these lines: ” We did our best to let ’em know that we care/For every last one of ’em that’s over there/Whether we belong over there or not/Somebody over here love’s ’em, and needs ’em.” Those lines sum up my position on supporting the troops more than anything else could.
Donovan is one of my favorite artists and I truly respect Buffy Sainte-Marie, as well. However, I don’t buy into their wrong-headed view that the “Universal Soldier….really is to blame.” The government is to blame and not just ours, but all of them. And it is this day, more than any other, when we should be questioning their motives. It is important to remember that Veteran’s Day was originally meant to celebrate the end of World War I, not the beginning. We should also remember, as a bipartisan group of Congressmen are advocating a cut in military spending, the words of Dr. King: ““A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
I can trace my family’s history back to War of 1812 veterans. My grandfather served in World War II and was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge. My uncle was in Vietnam and one of my cousins never came home from Vietnam. I have three friends who are in Afghanistan as I type this. I humbly offer this playlist in hopes that next year they will be back home with their families, helping out in our communities rather than in foreign countries. But first I offer this video of an artist not commonly seen here on No Depression, yet one who was fundamentally involved in some of my first musical memories. If you have any preconceived notions about the band, please ignore them and watch the video anyway.
The playlist:
Johnny Cash- “Singin’ in Vietnam Talkin’ Blues”
CCR- “Fortunate Son”
Kris Kristofferson- “In the News”
Merle Haggard- “Rebuild America First”
John Prine- “The Great Compromise”
Bob Dylan- “With God on Our Side”
Phil Ochs- “What Are You Fighting For?”
Tom T. Hall- “Gimme Peace”
Elvis Presley- “If I Can Dream”
Joan Baez- “Where Are You Now, My Son?”
Ed McCurdy- “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream”
The Doors- “Unknown Soldier”
System of a Down- “Boom!”
Tom Paxton- “Buy a Gun for Your Son”
Pete Seeger- “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?”
Billy Joel- “Leningrad” (guilty pleasure)
Steve Earle- “Warrior”
Black Sabbath- “Electric Funeral”
James McMurtry- “Cheney’s Toy”
Ernest Tubb- “The Soldier’s Last Letter”
The Bob Seger System- “2+2=?”
Junior Wells- “Vietcong Blues”
Coven- “One Tin Soldier”
John Mellencamp- “Now More than Ever”
Dead Confederate- “Run from the Gun”