American Soldier–Toby Keith
I do not agree with what Toby Keith has to say, I do not like the idea of soldiers in general–of killing at , really, but leftists never give him enough credit, as a performer and as a politician. The idea of a solider who does his job as duty–in order to preserve larger liberties seems quaint to us, so quaint that it can be dismissed. Conservatives remember this idea as the foundation of the revolutionary war and wish to keep it (it’s why the song has a coda of fifes and drums). Keith’s demographic thinks the fight in Iraq is about terrorism, not about oil. The people who fight that war are the people in their communities. He shows this, and in this song does so without blank jingoism. (He does do blank jingoism well, just not here–for that see Courtsey of the Red, White and Blue.)
Its strange to think of Keith doing anything with subtlety, and even stranger to think of him as the replacement of Charlie Daniels. This is a man who was mostly known for drinking and fucking songs. But when Michael Moore’s film is the number one movie of the week if we listen to what the other side has to say, there might be something valubale here.
(Watching the video on launch.com, there was an ad before it and an ad after it to sign up for the army, and Keith is frequent on USO tours.)