March 26, 2003~~2:12 p.m.
Open Letter to Lieutenant Layne McDowell
The other day, I was forwarded this letter which appeared on a Lubbock, Texas radio station website in regard to the comments made by the Dixie Chicks this past month in London. Read carefully. Disclaimer: I have not changed ANY of the original punctuation in this missive. ~~~~~~~~~ Name: Lt. Layne McDowell Date: 3/15/03 Comment: An open letter to the Dixie Chicks: Earlier this week, while performing in London, you stated that you were ashamed that our President is from your home state. I wonder if you realized how many Americans would be listening. This American was listening. This Texan is ashamed that you come from my state. I serve my country as an officer in the United States Navy. Specifically, I fly F-14 Tomcats off carriers around the world, executing the missions that preserve the very freedom you claim to exercise. I have proudly fought for my country in the skies over Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan without regret. Though I may disagree wholeheartedly with your comments, I will defend to the death your right to say them, in America. But for you to travel to a foreign land and publicly criticize our Commander in Chief is cowardice behavior. Would you have so willingly made those comments while performing for a patriotic, flag-waving crowd of Texans in Lubbock. I would imagine not. How dare you pocket profit off songs about soldiers, their deaths and patriotism while criticizing their Commander in Chief abroad, even while they prepare to give their lives to ensure your own freedom of speech. Please ask yourself, what have you done to deserve that sacrifice? Do not try to justify your comments by claiming that you made them only because you care about innocent lives. Never once in our history have we committed troops to war for the purpose of taking innocent lives. We do it to protect innocent lives, even yours. If the world leaders of the late 1930�s had the vision and courage of our present Commander in Chief, perhaps the evil men who caused the death of millions in WWII would have never had the opportunity to harm a soul. The potential loss of millions of lives in the future at the hands of today�s evil men necessitate action. In a separate correspondence, I am returning to you each and every Dixie Chicks CD and cassette that I have ever purchased. Never again will I allow my funds to support your behavior. All you have done is to add your name to a growing list of American �Celebrities� who have failed to realize that they have obtained their successes on the backs of the American blue-collar workers such as our servicemen and women. To Natalie Maines: This Texan�this American will continue to risk his life to guarantee your freedoms. What will you do to deserve it? ~~~~~~~ I got mad. Then I wrote this: Name: Lauren, Marine Wife Date: 3/26/03 Comment: An open letter to Lt. Layne McDowell: Dear Lt. McDowell, I have been privy to your comments that were posted on the KLLL radio station website. They were forwarded to me via email. It occurs to me that your perspective, though shared by many nationwide, is likely given more weight due to your position as an officer in the United States Navy. Well, I would like to use my position as the pregnant wife of an Corporal in the United States Marine Corps to offer a rebuttal to your statements. I am not pro-war and have never supported our President in the decision to attack Iraq because I do not feel that the American public has been sufficiently advised as to the �real� reasons behind this war. However, now that the war has begun and my husband is fighting in Iraq at this moment, I will say that I stand behind the military and the government as an American at this juncture in time. Do not mistake my support for the military as support for the President�s decision. They are not one and the same. But my intent is to discuss your letter, not my own position. You stated that although you disagree wholeheartedly with Natalie Maines� statement, you will �defend to the death� her �right to say them, in America.� You continued on to say that �for you to travel to a foreign land and publicly criticize our Commander in Chief is cowardice behavior.� This implies that you defend her right to speak her mind, as long as she states it clearly on American soil. I do not believe that our right to freedom of speech is unlimited only so long as we keep it within our national boundaries. You also asked �would you have so willingly made those comments while performing for a patriotic, flag-waving crowd of Texans in Lubbock� implying that flag-waving and patriotism equates with supporting the President of the United States. This is insulting to me as I wave the flag and consider myself very patriotic but do NOT support the President in everything he does. I suspect, too, that not all Texans follow blindly behind President Bush just because he is a fellow Texan. I also have a feeling that if you challenged Natalie Maines to making the statement she made in London at a concert in Lubbock, she might take you up on it. Be careful what you wish for. You chastise Natalie Maines for profiting off the songs of dead soldiers �while criticizing their Commander in Chief.� Did I miss something? How is this related? Is it not okay to mourn the dead while keeping �in check� the person who has the power to send them into deadly situations? You said, �do not try to justify your comments by claiming that you made them only because you care about innocent lives� and continued on by saying, �never once in our history have we committed troops to war for the purpose of taking innocent lives.� I believe that Natalie Maines made her statement, motivated by the care she had for innocent lives both in terms of Iraqi citizens and the men and women in the US Military who are also potential innocent victims of this war. Your second statement is obviously true. Of course we have never waged war with the intent of taking innocent lives. That is a given. However, in any war, innocent lives are lost and this is the dire cost of battle. Those of us opposed to this war were speaking out for your chance at survival as well as those living their lives in what would become a war zone, in Iraq. You mentioned the world leaders of the 1930�s and seemingly criticize their lack of vision in not having foreseen the evil that would come of Hitler�s regime. When the United States liberated the concentration camps in Europe, the horrors they found there were a complete surprise. Everyone knew Hitler was an evil man, but no one had any idea of the torture that went on inside those walls until the end of the war. The leaders during the second World War were making decisions based on the facts they had in front of them. We, at this point in time, have the luxury of learning from history. George W. Bush is more equipped to conceive of potential evils today thanks to the horrors of the Holocaust decades ago. I also take issue with your statements about celebrities who have �failed to realize that they have obtained their successes on the backs of the American blue-collar workers�� Can you honestly make the assumption that Natalie Maines does not realize that her album sales come from people of all socio-economic backgrounds? I doubt it. You imply that she owes the military men and women more support because they purchased her albums. This is flawed thinking and directly negates the concept of freedom of thought and speech. Again, her comments do not indicate a lack of support for the military, simply a stance against our President. Lastly, you made two statements regarding Natalie Maines� worthiness of her right to the freedoms you fight to protect. First you stated that she �claims to exercise� her freedom {of speech} and at the end, you imply that that she is not acting like a person �deserving� of the guarantee of that freedom. In regard to your first statement, she is not �claiming� to exercise anything: she simply IS exercising her right. And in regard to your last sentence, it is appalling to me to think that a fellow American citizen and member of the military would misconstrue the language of the First Amendment and a concept that is basic to all humanity. You do not earn the right to make statements, popular or unpopular. As a human being, one simply has the opportunity and the right to make a statement. You should be ashamed that you would find someone worthy or unworthy of your fight for our freedoms simply based on the possibility that they may make a statement with which you do not agree, and thus does not �deserve� your willingness to fight for that right. Every American deserves to have you fight for them. The fact that you fight so that people in this country can have opinions you do not share is a sacrifice you, Lt. McDowell, chose to make by joining the Navy. My husband is a proud Marine. I am proud of him for what he has chosen to do with his life and what he is doing for the Iraqi people at this moment. Neither of us voted for President Bush and neither of us will vote for him in the next election. But I support my husband and the troops, I pray for their safe return, and I know that ultimately, thousands of lives will be changed for the better because of this war�whether or not that was the true reason for our attack. I am thankful that you, Lt. McDowell, have chosen to give your time to our military. However, I find many flaws in your thinking. I suggest you give pause the next time you choose to publicly attack a statement you have not fully thought through. Sincerely, Lauren ~~~~~~~ I have sent a copy of this letter to the radio station in Lubbock. I doubt they will feature it on their homepage like the letter from Lt. McDowell, but I will feel better for having sent it. I wanted to correct Lt. McDowell�s punctuation and suggest using question marks at the end of questions, but I decided that critiquing his grammar and word choices (cowardice behavior? How about cowardLY behavior?) would take away from my message. But I noticed. Oh yes I did. Kiss my open letter, Lieutenant.
|
