Our last note in this space not surprisingly spurred a range of reactions among our readers, as is reflected in this issue’s letters section. Some folks agreed with us; many others disagreed; some offered a different perspective on the matter altogether.
A good portion of those who wrote in, however, contended that we should explicitly refrain from expressing political views in these pages. That seems to us not only unrealistic, as it discounts the inherent relationship between politics and art, but also unhealthy, as it suggests an aversion to the kind of dialogue that helps us understand each other better.
My co-editor Grant Alden wrote, in a reply to this issue’s letters that was ultimately excised to make room for more letters, that “we have to be able to talk about our differences, and preaching to the converted only weighs down the collection plate. They may rarely be so explicit, but politics have always been — and will always be — among the textures of these pages. Great songs (and good writing) come from hard thinking, and surely we wish our best artists to grapple with the most difficult and important subjects they encounter.”
Grant’s reference to “our best artists” led me to ponder an intriguing aspect of this debate, one that also arose in reading some of the letters we received. Granted, the opinions expressed by many artists we featured in ND #53 — from Willie Nelson to Buddy Miller to Jason Ringenberg to Mavis Staples to Camper Van Beethoven — lean counter to the direction George Bush would lead America. There’s more of that sentiment in this issue, as it happens, from the likes of John Fogerty and Iris DeMent.
Granted, there are artists on the other side of the tracks as well. Toby Keith and Darryl Worley have sold millions with songs that defend Bush’s actions. A current conservative-oriented compilation disc features similar songs from the likes of Lee Greenwood, Aaron Tippin, Lonestar and Blackhawk.
Yet if you’ve chosen to pick up this magazine, it’s almost certainly because you prefer the artists we cover to the ones on that compilation. And it’s hard to believe that the political differences between these artists are pure coincidence.
Does that mean Willie or Iris, or the artists such as Bruce Springsteen and Bonnie Raitt who participated in the recent “Vote For Change” tour, have all the answers about political matters? Hardly. But if you’ve found their music to be worth your time over the years, then perhaps there is some logic in listening to what they have to say about America, too. As Americans, they deserve no less. And as artists whose best work often comes, to revisit Grant’s words, “from hard thinking,” they’ve earned that respect.
It is the same respect I’ve come to afford to those with whom I share a bond of friendship even as our politics are at odds. I harbor that respect for an occasional contributor to these pages who is devoutly conservative, yet dearly loves Springsteen’s music. And for an employee of this magazine who was once my landlord and is now a dear friend. And for my in-laws, to whom I will always listen, if not always agree with.
Which is, ultimately, all we can hope to ask of our readers as well.
Speaking of those in-laws, they are the foremost among those dear to my wife and me who will be missed greatly when we move across the country from North Carolina to Washington state in the weeks ahead. By the time you read this, we will have made that long journey, though the transition will still be in progress (thus the address listed in the staff box at left, but a phone number still to be determined).
When I made this same drive but in the opposite direction four years ago, it was with a hope that the change in the playing field would lead to changes in my life that, in fact, have happily come to pass. And yet, both my wife Lisa and I have felt the west coast calling us back for quite some time; indeed, that beckoning is one of the bonds we shared from the moment we met. (Thus our shared smile when we heard this issue’s Town & Country subject Geraint Watkins sing out at a recent Raleigh show, “Go west — wagons ho!”)
Her family will still be here, as mine will still be in Texas (and beyond), which will undoubtedly occasion plenty of return visits. And we both owe much to the friends we’ve made in the Triangle during our years here. Musically, too, it was everything it had seemed from afar — rich in talented artists I feel privileged to have been able to see and hear on a regular basis. And perhaps we’ll be able to spread that house-concert thing to the Northwest.
For now, though, the road awaits. Just try to keep that damned volcano at bay for a little while longer, please…
