Posted on 06/20/2002 8:32:53 AM PDT by Freeper Lady
(6/19/02, 5 p.m. ET) -- Charlie Daniels recently pulled out of a scheduled appearance on PBS's A Capitol Fourth in Washington, D.C. after one of the songs he wanted to perform was banned from the show's lineup. Daniels wrote "The Last Fallen Hero" as a tribute to the victims of the September 11 attacks, and felt it was an especially appropriate holiday to remember those Americans whose lives were taken. The show's producers, however, did not agree, so Daniels canceled his performance.
"I'm not on a star trip," Daniels tells LAUNCH. "I'm not being egotistical or petulant. I'm not trying to hold up this TV show or anything like that. It's just that, doggone it, Fourth Of July in the United States of America should be a flag-waving time. That's what it's all about. It's not about 'everything's fine, I'm fine, you're fine' touchy-feely 'I'm okay, you're okay, we have nothing to worry about'-type situation. We're involved in a very, very dangerous war and we gotta start realizing it or we're gonna be in big trouble."
Daniels was particularly outraged by the fact that a public television network was censoring his music. "You know, PBS really is kind of a left-wing organization anyway, but what aggravates me...I just did a thing with them a while back called 'Speaking Freely,' which is about free speech, but now here they come with, 'You can't do this.' For a publicly funded television network, I just think it's ridiculous. They're not willing to stand up for the country who funds them," he says. "America is not a politically correct country. We have some very high up people in the American hierarchy and in the media who are, but the people out here are not."
The legendary entertainer noted that he isn't the only victim of political-correctness this July 4 holiday. Daniels referred to fellow singer Toby Keith's controversial removal from the ABC In Search Of America: A July 4th Musical Celebration lineup.
"The people in this country would love to see Toby Keith do his song," he says. "They would love to have a flag-waving song on the Fourth Of July. They would think it was great, but Peter Jennings, because he's whatever he is, he don't want to see it done. If he's worried about the word 'ass,' how many times a day does it get said on ABC? How many times do worse things get shown on ABC? How many times do they have things that are really detrimental to people--to kids and stuff--which they don't care about, but if it's something that's totally American and flag-waving, they don't want it."
Daniels adds that "sugar-coating" and downplaying the seriousness of this war is of no advantage to Americans. The key is staying angry. "It's time to rub salt in the wound," he says. "That's the whole situation. I mean, that's just not something we need to sidestep. We need to stay mad. We've gotta stay mad. We're involved in something like we have never been involved in before. I mean, it's like, 'Hey, it's okay. We don't wanna make nobody mad. We don't wanna offend anybody. We don't wanna do this...' We better damn well get started offending some people. We better stay vigilant."
-- Margy Holland, Nashville
I would suggest to FReep 'em, but it's probably not worth the effort.
You tell 'em Charlie!
Thanks for sharing this news.
It would be fun to watch.
Ditto!
It's time to pull the plug on PBS.
This ain't no rag it's a flag
And we don't wear it on our heads
It's a symbol of the land where the good guys live
Are you listening to what I said
You're a coward and a fool
And you broke all of the rules
And you wounded our American pride
And now we're coming with a gun
And we know you're gonna run
But you can't find no place to hide
We're gonna hunt you down like a mad dog hound
Make you pay for the live you stole
We're all through talking and a messing around
And now it's time to rock and roll
These colors don't run and we're speaking as one When we say united we stand
When you mess with one, you mess with us all
Every boy, girl, woman and man
You've been acting mighty rash
And talking that trash
Let me give you some advice
You can crawl back in your hole
Like a dirty little mole
But now you're gonna pay the price
You might of shot us in the back
Now you have to face the fact
That the big boys' in the game
And the lighening's been flashing
And the thunder's been crashing
And now it's getting ready to rain
Chorus:
This is the United States of America
The land of the brave and the free
We believe in God and we believe in justice
We believe in liberty
You've been pulling our chain
We should've done something 'bout you a long time ago
But now the flag's flying high and the fur's gonna fly
And soon the whole world's gonna know
This ain't no rag, it's a flag
Old Glory red, white and blue
The stars and the stripes when it comes to a fight
We can do what we have to do
Our people stand proud
The American crowd is faithful, loyal and tough
We're good as the best and better than the rest
And you're gonna find out soon enough
When you look up in the sky
And you see the eagle fly
You better know he's a heading your way
Cause this ain't no rag it's a flag
And it stands for the USA
USA
USA
USA
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