Shocking Confessions of a Free Thinker

I like the Dixie Chicks.

There. I said it.

But wait. I have an even more shocking confession. I don't like them because of what they said about Bush. I don't like them in spite of it, either. I like them because...wait for it...

Their music is good.

See, I don't get my political views from entertainers for the same reason I don't get my prescription drugs from the bakery. It may be convenient, but it just doesn't make any sense.

Like most of us, they have opinions, and the right to express them. But unlike most of us, they happen to have an effective platform and a captive audience for expressing their views. That doesn't make them more perceptive, astute or unimpeachable. It just makes them louder.

If constructing a values system with as little effort as possible is one's goal, then I suppose being spoon fed ideals holds a certain appeal. It does eliminate the need to think, afterall. In which case, I guess a person could conceivably do worse than to adopt the views of someone who gets paid truckloads of money to parrot the words of others. I'm not exactly sure how, but I have no doubt it will become apparent with the advent of the next election.

I love the Chicks one and all, but I could not possibly care less about their thoughts on politics. Or abortion. Or the death penalty. Or foreign trade. Or immigration. Or religion. Or parenting. I won't stop listening to them unless they start making crappy music. I wouldn't have started unless I enjoyed it in the first place.

So I'll get my views the old fashioned way, thank you. Because there is something to be said for thinking. It pretty much eliminates the need for righteous indignation and abject disillusionment when a much loved performer expresses an opinion not in keeping with one's own views. And, it keeps one from making a complete ass of themselves by passing judgement on others by virtue of a single belief.

More people should really try it.