Tag Archives: Ricky Skaggs

Trump

Today’s the day we’ve been waiting for… but I feel anxious.

Election Day is usually exciting for me, especially during a presidential election year. This year, I feel more anxious than excited. I feel hopeful that things will turn around and we’ll finally get some good people leading the United States again. But then I remember what happened in 2016 and I know that no matter what’s in the news, it might not turn out the way I’d like it.

Yesterday, a woman I’ve known since high school posted a somewhat reasonable comment about how Donald Trump isn’t to blame for “everything” wrong in America. In previous years, I would have totally agreed with her that the president isn’t at fault for everything wrong. Even this year, I can concede that Trump isn’t directly responsible for everything bad that has happened since he took office. There are others involved who aided and abetted him. However, no other president in my lifetime has been as unprofessional, uncaring, and unhinged as Trump has been.

Against my better judgment, I responded to my friend’s post that under normal circumstances, I would agree wholeheartedly with her post. Trump is a different animal. My friend reiterated that he’s not at fault for everything. I agreed with that, but then pointed out that he eggs on divisiveness, mockery, and violence. Instead of denouncing the men who plotted to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Trump cheered them on. Instead of criticizing the mob of Trump supporting drivers in Texas who swarmed Joe Biden’s bus, Trump tweeted about how much he loves Texas and even THANKED them for trying to run Biden’s people off the road! Innocent people could have been KILLED!

So I pointed these things out… and one of my friend’s Trump supporting pals mocked me for my opinion, saying I have “Trump derangement syndrome”. I asked him not to insult me, and he denied claiming that I have a mental illness because I don’t approve of Trump was “insulting”. I reminded the guy that he doesn’t know me at all and can’t make any legitimate evaluations of my mental health. He advised me to “stop watching CNN”. I wondered if he really thought his comments would change my mind, or if he just wanted to be an asshole.

It always surprises me when people think I get all of my news from CNN. First of all, I don’t live in the United States and I don’t get cable TV. So I don’t watch CNN. I do occasionally look at CNN’s Web site, but more often than not, I get my information from well-respected newspapers to which I am a paying subscriber. At this writing, these are the publications I pay to read:

  1. The Washington Post
  2. The New York Times
  3. The Irish Times
  4. The Wall Street Journal
  5. The Atlantic

I also read a lot of books. I have read several about Trump’s presidency, written by people who worked with him. I also have the benefit of two advanced degrees. Although Trump supporting people may want to call me “stupid”, “crazy”, or a “sheep” for reading the news, the truth is, I’m not a dummy. I’m not sure what that guy expects from people, anyway. Is he saying that I should be drawing my own conclusions based on no news at all? Or should I simply get my news from Fox?

Anyway, that attempt at civilized discourse quickly unraveled, so I left the conversation. As I was about to go to sleep, I noticed a post by Ricky Skaggs. I actually love Ricky Skaggs’ music. I don’t go to him or anyone else for my politics. I figure he has as much right as anyone to vote as he likes. But I did pause when I read this…

After hearing a pastor speak a message about life and death, I felt I had to share what I heard. I know many of you are still trying to decide who to vote for on Tuesday. Some people vote for or against a person solely on their personality, I get that, but let me just offer a few words that might help you to decide. Voting is a very personal thing and I’m not telling you who to vote for but just giving you something to think about. When I look at the platform of both parties, I see a stark contrast, nearly as much as day is from night. 

I decided a long time ago that if I was gonna grow up and have a relationship with the living Savior Jesus Christ, I needed to know what His Word says. I needed to love the things He loves, and hate the things He hates. God is love, but God is also righteous in all of His ways. 

His Word says; “God hates the shedding of innocent blood.” There’s nothing more innocent than an unborn baby. The pastor went on to say “anyone who votes for the party that approves abortion, that person has co-signed a death warrant on the unborn. They have come into an agreement and made a covenant with that party and all that it stands for.” I had never heard it said like that before. It was a hard hitting truth. It made me realize the awesome responsibility of agreement! “Today I set before you, life and prosperity, death and destruction.” Deut 30:19

Ricky Skaggs is a very proud and unabashed Trump supporter. I’m surprised Trump’s people didn’t get him to play at his inauguration in 2017. I feel certain that Skaggs would have obliged. But my guess is that Trump wouldn’t appreciate Ricky Skaggs’ bluegrass and gospel stylings.

I don’t understand why Skaggs likes Trump so much. Trump is certainly not “pro-life”. Trump brags about molesting women. He has a history of violence toward women. In fact, some of his victims have been teenagers. I would not be the least bit surprised if he has paid for abortions. In fact, when Trump found out his second wife Marla Maples, who was not his wife at the time, was pregnant with his daughter, Tiffany, he reportedly said, “Oh, great.” He also reportedly asked Marla to have an abortion. Supposedly, Trump’s mother insisted that Trump marry Maples. Their union lasted six years. He’s now on marriage number three. Below is an excerpt from a Vanity Fair article about Trump’s relationship with Maples…

At one point, he broke up with Maples by FedEx-ing her a letter, the source said. Trump bragged about his bachelorhood. “I had been in Europe fucking every model in the world. My life was wild,” he told Vanity Fair in 1994. But Trump, a famous germophobe, also found monogamy reassuring as the AIDS crisis raged. “Being single out there is a little bit scary, to put it mildly,” he said. “It’s like being in Vietnam, in the forests, and knowing there are guns pointed at your head.”

It could be possible that Trump has had a change of heart since the 1990s, but I sincerely doubt it. He’s quite clearly a narcissist and they don’t typically change. They’re famously rigid people who tend to get worse rather than better. So I don’t know why Ricky Skaggs holds Trump up to be such a moral “pro-life” choice. Frankly, I’m much more concerned about people who have already been born. And Trump brags about his conquests. He has no respect for life.

Anyway… I have been waiting for Election Day 2020. I hope Americans do the right thing. I know there are people out there who will vote for Trump because they just can’t see what a dishonest scumbag he is. There’s nothing I can do about that. I have some hope that things will change in 2021, although if Trump loses, he will do everything he can to fuck things up even more before he’s forced out of the White House. And no matter what, there will probably be chaos and violence as people react to the results.

I’m glad to be in Germany, but watching this from afar is also very sad for me. I don’t love everything about the Democrats. I especially dislike their smug, self-righteous tone when it comes to social issues. But we really need a new leader… someone with a conscience and a good brain. We have to get rid of the toxicity that Trump promotes. Otherwise, things are only going to get worse.

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music, politics

Fresh, hot, gender roles…

Last night, I saw a post on Retro Wifey, a Facebook page I follow somewhat casually. It was about the Dixie Chicks, who made headlines in 2003, when they dissed former President George W. Bush at a concert in London.

This was a really hot album back in the day…

At the time the Dixie Chicks were being shunned and castigated for their liberal, anti-Bush political opinions, I was kind of new to their music. I thought they were very talented, and while I don’t typically go to celebrities for my politics, I figure they had as much right as anyone to speak up about their views. Of course, people also had the right to their responses. Unfortunately, lots of people decided to throw out their Dixie Chicks albums. Radio stations stopped playing their music, and they were kind of obscure for awhile.

Lots of conservatives relate to Toby Keith’s politics and don’t care if he sings about them… But God forbid if you’re a woman country singer who dares to be liberal…

I wasn’t surprised when I saw the reactions to Retro Wifey’s Dixie Chicks post. Plenty of people have forgiven the Chicks for their outspokenness, but other folks still haven’t let it go. A lot of people commenting on Retro Wifey’s post were still denouncing the Dixie Chicks, even though their anti Bush sentiment is ancient history. A lot of the same people who claim the Dixie Chicks should simply shut up and sing have no problem with Toby Keith’s sentiment of “putting a boot in someone’s ass” for messing with America. (… and honestly, a certain segment of Americans really are ignorant and ARROGANT… it’s SAD and embarrassing!) Toby Keith is a white man, though, so I guess he gets a pass.

I couldn’t resist leaving a comment. Here’s what I said…

They are very talented, doing fine, and totally entitled to their opinions, like any other American is.  ❤However, I think W is way better than Trump. I bet they think so too.

It’s true. I do think the Dixie Chicks probably do prefer W to Trump, even if they still don’t like George W. Bush. Someone apparently thought that meant I’m a Bush fan. She commented that Trump and Bush are “cut from the same cloth”. I responded with this…

I don’t think so. At least W isn’t a rapist and can speak in full sentences. I was certainly not a W fan, but at least he had some redeeming qualities. Trump is just vile.

And the person who commented to me wrote, “True that.”

I wasn’t surprised to see that my first comment got a variety of reactions. A few people gave me the orange angry emoji. I got one love. Two people thought my comment was funny, and nine liked it. My comment about Trump got less polarized reactions. I got one wow, ten likes, and four funnies. One of the people who thought my first comment was funny, wrote a comment dissing the Chicks. And because we were having a good time listening to music and drinking wine, I played along…

Yeah, I was kind of trolling…

When I see these kinds of comments– comments about a band’s talent or lack thereof, and most likely made strictly because of the band’s politics– I do wonder if it makes people feel better to slam them. I mean, maybe you don’t like the Dixie Chicks’ music, but how in the hell can anyone say they are the WORST band ever? How can someone say they have no talent? Shit, I can sit here and think of twenty bands that are way worse than the Dixie Chicks, yet they’ve made money. Moreover, I think that the Dixie Chicks got so much heat because they’re women and their audience was mostly country music fans, many of whom are Republicans. And sadly, I think a lot of people who identify as conservative lack the ability to understand that a person can be a wonderful, creative, talented performer and not subscribe to the same political world view as you do. For all of their talk about the Constitution and American freedoms, many conservatives sure seem hellbent on shutting up people who don’t agree with them. So the Dixie Chicks don’t like George W. Bush. Isn’t it very American of them to share their opinions? Aren’t we all about personal freedoms, particularly of speech and expression?

They aren’t talented? Really? We must hear them differently. I admire them for their bravery, although I like their bluegrass more than this. What they did in London back in 2003 was VERY American. We should be proud.

Case in point, I LOVE listening to Ricky Skaggs. He’s a brilliant musician. He often plays with Bruce Hornsby, who is a native of Williamsburg, Virginia, not far from where I grew up. I love Bruce Hornsby’s music, too. Bruce Hornsby reportedly votes as a liberal. Ricky Skaggs is definitely NOT liberal. He is a Trump supporter. I still love Ricky’s music, even if some of his homespun lyrics make me cringe (because they aren’t grammatically correct). The point is, I appreciate the music, and it’s alright if the musician doesn’t share my politics. Politics are personal. I don’t understand why people like Donald Trump. I suspect it’s mainly because he identifies as Republican and claims to be against abortion. Ricky Skaggs has said that he only votes for pro-life candidates. I don’t think Trump is truly pro-life, but he pays lip service, so Skaggs supports him. But even though I wish Republicans would insist on a more decent candidate, I don’t hold a person’s politics against them, particularly if I love their music.

Interesting that Ricky Skaggs would sing this, since this is pretty much an anti Trump anthem. But it looks to me that this collaboration is about something more than politics. It’s about making great music.
“My favorite book was ‘wrote’ about a man that died to save my soul.” Well, as a grammar snob, that annoys me… but I appreciate the song just the same.

Anyway… I don’t think people need to worry about the Dixie Chicks’ careers. They’re doing just fine. Looks like they’ve gone to the dark side of pop music, which is just fabulous for them. They’ll probably make more money that way. And they are certainly entitled to their opinions, as is any other person in a free society. I have a feeling that if the Dixie Chicks were men expressing themselves, they would have been forgiven by a lot more people by now. But they also probably would not have been as successful, because part of their appeal twenty years ago was that they were sexy, young women with oodles of talent and lots of sass. They got too sassy with the conservative lot, and some ignorant folks still haven’t gotten over it yet, seventeen years hence. But I figure if people still want to hold the Dixie Chicks’ politics against them and not listen to their music, it’s their loss.

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