Yikes..

You know, I have nothing against country, musically. I downloaded a Gretchen Wilson track and liked it enough to buy the album.

But every country album I've bought this year has this obnoxious self-persecuting attitude. If you were going only on the lyrics of popular country you'd think that Christians were an oppressed minority that a majority of people hate with a passion.

"Nothing wrong...with the bible..nothing wrong..with the flag..." I agree. Who says there's anything wrong with the bible or the flag? What aggressor exactly are you defending yourself against? "I'm politically uncorrect". Yeah, people all over the country are fed up with the political correctness trend. "I'm the underdog." No, you're not! The line on you has to be about -28!

These kinds of lyrics even make it hard for me to tell whether I like the album based on it's musical merits.

I always chuckle that the great patriot, Lee Greenwood ("God Bless The USA") whose classic line "And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today" makes him out to be a heroic soldier was, in fact, never in the service even though he was draft eligible during Vietnam. He received a 3A deferrment, meaning his drafting would have caused "hardship onto his family." Apparently, it was more important to have country singers in Nevada casinos during 'Nam then to have foot soldiers in the jungles.

It's great that the big patriot (who was all about us going to war in Afghanistan and Iraq) didn't have the stones to serve himself. I guess it's easy to be a gung-ho patriot if you and your loved ones will never be in harm's way.

Great Topic! The only thing I would've changed was calling it Country Pop. I'll come back when I have something more thoughtful to add.

As a clergyman in the deep south I agree with you. I have never felt persecuted, or that I am marginalized in our society. I think politicians use this divisive assumption to gain votes from those who believe their way of life is going to be destroyed without help. Some musicians use it to tap into a fan base and sell records. I think one of the few records that employed faith and patriotism in a genuine manner was Alan Jackson's "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?" I wish more musicians would ask themselves, "Are the lyrics used based on truth, and true-to-life expreiences?" Songs written from devotion to truth challenge us, and dare us to communicate with one another.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rev. Rikard,

philosopherEric,
I have to disagree with you opinion of Lee Greenwood, yes he didn't serve but so what. Does he not have the right to write/perform a song?

He isn't claiming to be a hero, he is singing a song. I believe that the song that he wrote has done more for the America than he ever could have done had he gone to war. Im not saying that I don't see your point because I do.

As for all this newly founded crap that is on the raido, I agree with Rikard, it seems alot of it is musicians trying to jump on Toby Keith's bandwagon and make a buck off of the current situation in the middle east. It's bad music like that bin-laden song I mean come on, it's just crap.

Just remember that what is currently driving country music is Nashville and their greed. What easier target is there to these idiots that know nothing about country music than to pull shit strait out of the news.