… What is truth?

Among the responses to my post on the Dixie Chicks was this one from Mark C.:

I have never heard a single note that the Dixie Chicks have sung. I
am not, obviously, a fan of their music. Nor did I ever think of the
controversy about their 2003 comment as a free speech issue. It’s
good of you to put that event in its context. But one thing you
erase from the picture of 2003 — or to give you the benefit of the doubt — that you forget in a BIG way is this:

In 2003, those of us against going to war were in the minority in
this country, while clearly, the majority of the rest of the western
world was also against our going to war — at least, without actually
exhausting every possible way of avoiding it first. For those of us
opposed to this rush to war — even though, as you say, no one KNEW
that there were no WMDs to be found then — we were ashamed to have our
leader hell-bent on starting a war, no matter what: no matter the
evidence, no matter the cost in human lives and dollars, no matter
that our previous supporters and allies were beginning to hate us.
For those few of us, Natalie Maines’s comment in London was a breath
of fresh air. “Hooray! Someone is speaking up for the rest of us!
Someone is telling the world that, no matter how they perceive
America, there are at least a few of us who agree with them!”

Again, I couldn’t give a flying you-know-what about the Dixie
Chicks. If they are publicity mongers, or are disingenuous, I can’t
even comment, as I know so little about them. But when you state
that you are setting the record straight, telling the real truth of
2003, then please tell ALL of the real truth of 2003, not just that
which supports your opinion.

I replied:

Your point about those who were against the war, including you, being glad that someone (Natalie Maines) was “speaking up” for them doesn’t impinge on any of the points I made. My post was about explaining the source of other people’s outrage — i.e. the “where” and “when” of how Maines’ comment about Bush was made, rather than the mere comment itself. My post was also about how this specific context has not generally been recalled in the massive amount of media attention that has greeted the Dixie Chicks’ new album in the last couple of weeks.

I certainly don’t pretend to tell “ALL of the real truth of 2003,” or all of the real truth about anything. Everything on the site is just my own angle on things, and I just try to be accurate in any facts that I assert and I try to explain myself properly. For “all of the real truth” you’d best look elsewhere — maybe try a Technorati search. And if you find it, send me the link!

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