Every year the sheriff's posse sponsors a country-western show fundraiser which I usually go to as I enjoy country music. Last night it was John Barry's turn to appear, and I have to admit he put on a pretty good show. He's a very versatile performer.
However, he sang a song last night which disturbed me quite a bit, one of his newer numbers, which he freely admitted was inspired by the Tea Party. The theme was that government regulations were taking away our freedoms and we need to return to the good old days.
I did not get a chance to talk with him afterwards but if I had, this is what I would have said. When you talk about government regulations being bad, which government regulations are you talking about? Please do not take offense, but when I see you up on that stage, I see a privileged white man. One who has no idea what it is like to be discriminated against because of your gender or skin color. I am afraid that I cannot agree with you about government regulations, because it was government regulations that have given me the freedom to live the way I do. I remember a time when it was legal to discriminate, when help wanted ads were divided into "help wanted--male/help wanted--female." That is the world I was born in.
You obviously do not know, or have chosen to ignore, the history of the labor movement in the United States. That left to themselves, without government interference, factories and businesses would not have safety procedures in place, would still hire children, would still have sweatshop conditions, and would still continue to pollute the air and water around them. Yes, many of these factories have left the United States for the Third World where there aren't pesky government regulations--and how do they treat their employees over there? Wasn't there a big fire in a Bangladesh garment factory not long ago? What about our very own Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire? Are you really advocating a return to such conditions? No? Then please explain, just what government regulations are you talking about?
What about the food you eat? Have you never read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" or pondered just what it was that led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act (now the FDA)? Why is it that we are warned about eating and drinking the water in other countries but nobody coming here is warned to beware of our food and water? Again, that's from those awful folks up on Capitol Hill.
You did say something about government interfering with religion? Again, I ask you how? Are you talking about how Native Americans were not allowed to practice their religion? No? Just exactly how is anyone's religious belief being interfered with? I've attended several churches and no church, and no one from either Washington or Lansing stopped by to warn me that I ought not to go here or there. On the other hand, I have heard of religions who are very controlling of their followers to the point of denying them basic civil liberties that you and I take for granted, and the government looks the other way because of the First Amendment, which is again, a government regulation.
So that is why I did not stand when others in the audience stood in approval. And I noticed I was not the only one who did not stand. I cannot speak for them, but maybe they were thinking the same things I was. You're much too good of an entertainer, John, to stoop to cheap tricks. So I think that perhaps maybe you and those who did stand didn't quite think things through. But I do wish you'd explain.
However, he sang a song last night which disturbed me quite a bit, one of his newer numbers, which he freely admitted was inspired by the Tea Party. The theme was that government regulations were taking away our freedoms and we need to return to the good old days.
I did not get a chance to talk with him afterwards but if I had, this is what I would have said. When you talk about government regulations being bad, which government regulations are you talking about? Please do not take offense, but when I see you up on that stage, I see a privileged white man. One who has no idea what it is like to be discriminated against because of your gender or skin color. I am afraid that I cannot agree with you about government regulations, because it was government regulations that have given me the freedom to live the way I do. I remember a time when it was legal to discriminate, when help wanted ads were divided into "help wanted--male/help wanted--female." That is the world I was born in.
You obviously do not know, or have chosen to ignore, the history of the labor movement in the United States. That left to themselves, without government interference, factories and businesses would not have safety procedures in place, would still hire children, would still have sweatshop conditions, and would still continue to pollute the air and water around them. Yes, many of these factories have left the United States for the Third World where there aren't pesky government regulations--and how do they treat their employees over there? Wasn't there a big fire in a Bangladesh garment factory not long ago? What about our very own Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire? Are you really advocating a return to such conditions? No? Then please explain, just what government regulations are you talking about?
What about the food you eat? Have you never read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" or pondered just what it was that led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act (now the FDA)? Why is it that we are warned about eating and drinking the water in other countries but nobody coming here is warned to beware of our food and water? Again, that's from those awful folks up on Capitol Hill.
You did say something about government interfering with religion? Again, I ask you how? Are you talking about how Native Americans were not allowed to practice their religion? No? Just exactly how is anyone's religious belief being interfered with? I've attended several churches and no church, and no one from either Washington or Lansing stopped by to warn me that I ought not to go here or there. On the other hand, I have heard of religions who are very controlling of their followers to the point of denying them basic civil liberties that you and I take for granted, and the government looks the other way because of the First Amendment, which is again, a government regulation.
So that is why I did not stand when others in the audience stood in approval. And I noticed I was not the only one who did not stand. I cannot speak for them, but maybe they were thinking the same things I was. You're much too good of an entertainer, John, to stoop to cheap tricks. So I think that perhaps maybe you and those who did stand didn't quite think things through. But I do wish you'd explain.
