About the way we have to live here in this country,
Harpin' on the wars we fight,
An' gripin' 'bout the way things oughta be.
An' I don't mind 'em switchin' sides,
An' standin' up for things they believe in.
When they're runnin' down my country, man,
They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Runnin' down the way of life,
Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep.
If you don't love it, leave it:
Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'.
If you're runnin' down my country, man,
You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
I read about some squirrely guy,
Who claims, he just don't believe in fightin'.
An' I wonder just how long,
The rest of us can count on bein' free.
They love our milk an' honey,
But they preach about some other way of livin'.
When they're runnin' down my country, hoss,
They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Runnin' down the way of life,
Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep.
If you don't love it, leave it:
Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'.
If you're runnin' down my country, man,
You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Runnin' down the way of life,
Our fightin' men have fought and died to keep.
If you don't love it, leave it:
Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin'.
If you're runnin' down my country, man,
You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me.
Merle Haggard
Me too, Merle!
LOL...Nice!
ReplyDelete"Runnin' down the way of life,
ReplyDeleteOur fightin' men have fought and died to keep"
I do like these two lines. Rather than suggesting the wars we fight are to maintain some vague concept like 'freedom', Merle more accurately suggests the wars we fight are to maintain our way of life. Unfortunately, war is only one of the ways by which our way of life brings suffering to others.
Like Bonhoeffer, I have no interest in freedom at the cost of death. The only necessary murder happened 2000 years ago.
dem' dar are fightin words, Abe.
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ReplyDeleteA couple missteps, Abe. First, Bonhoeffer's life was cut short, along with his brothers', because of their role in Hitler's failed assassination attempt (organized by a Protestant Church coalition). Second, Merle talks about how freedom is in jeopardy if people "don't believe in fightin.'" So, he is talking about freedom in a knowable and certain way. In fact, this is why Bonhoeffer did what he did and why WWII took place in the first place. Third, I would venture to guess that Merle had pacifists (during the Vietnam War) in mind when he wrote the aforementioned lyric (I'll blog about the egregious error of pacifism later). Fourth, you mentioned 'freedom' as some vague concept and yet it seems like you know what freedom means when you conjoin yourself to Bonhoeffer when referring to Christ's death. Finally, in light of what Bonhoeffer did, it seems that you would be 'unlike' him since. For, although he knew his guilt would be upon him, it was for the freedom of Germany that he attempted to kill Hitler. I guess he had a change of mind in 1943, forgoing his pacifist writings "The Cost of Discipleship" in 1937.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thorough response Chris. Bonhoeffer's exploration of the violence that he sought to inflict is actually a further defence of non-violence. Bonhoeffer was quite aware of and honest about the sinfulness of this plan, stating: "when a man takes guilt upon himself in responsibility, he imputes his guilt to himself and no one else. He answers for it...Before other men he is justified by dire necessity; before himself he is acquitted by his conscience, but before God he hopes only for grace" and "the blood of martyrs might once again be demanded, but this blood, if we really have the courage and loyalty to shed it, will not be innocent, shining like that of the first witnesses for the faith. On our blood lies heavy guilt, the guilt of the unprofitable servant who is cast into outer darkness." Bonhoeffer knew he was travelling outside of the Christian narrative, and that it was the weakness of his sinful humanity that brought him there. He did not forego his pacifist writing, he just didn't have the strength to follow his convictions.
ReplyDeleteI ask you again what he really means by 'freedom' in regards to his country? Haggard wrote this song during the Vietnam war, but you quote it now in agreement, which I can only take as your opinion on current wars rather than the Vietnam war. So, what do the current wars have to do with the freedom of Canadians?
Most importantly, Haggard has since become well known for his anti-Iraq war opinions and songs.
I also disagree that it was for the freedom of Germany or any one nation that the assisination attempts occurred. They were done in order to prompt a change in government that would seek peace rather than war, and began prior to WWII by those who oppossed Hitler's plan to go to war.
Abe, this will be my final comment on this post addressing a couple more faux pas'.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I agree that D.Bonhoeffer wanted a change in government but your revisionism fails to address what most people commonly believe; Hitler was oppressive, coercive, and manipulative. These adjectives are synonyms for 'bondage.' Most people prefer the alternative to bondage; freedom. Just to be sure, let's see what freedom means:
Dictionary.com
Main Entry: free·dom
Function: noun
1 : the quality or state of being free: as a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b : liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another c : the quality or state of being exempt or released from something onerous
Second, Bonhoeffer was not acting against his convictions. We can see this evidenced in a 1942 letter to his friend Hans von Dohnanyi regarding his involvement in the assassination plot: “We are not Christ, but if we want to be Christians, we must have some share in Christ’s largeheartedness by acting with responsibility and in freedom when the hour of danger comes, and by showing a real compassion that springs, nor from fear, but from the liberating and redeeming love of Christ for all who suffer. Mere waiting and looking on is not Christian behavior. Christians are called to compassion and action, not in the first place by their own sufferings, but by the sufferings of their brothers and sisters, for whose sake Christ suffered.” (Elizabeth Raum, "Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Called by God," 2002, p. 121)
From this we can infer that he was acting consistently with his Christian convictions, albeit a most harrowing task.
Third, it is easy to deduce that I am for the use of force when defending the weak. However, be careful in your assumptions, for I did not give my opinion on current wars taking place.
Fourth, I am uncertain as to why it was "most important" that Haggard is known for his anti-Iraq war songs. Despite being in opposition to that war, he continues to be pro-Army as evidenced in his "America First" song:
Who's on the hill and who's watching the valley
Who's in charge of it all
God bless the Army and God bless our liberty
Dadgum the rest of it all
Since you mentioned Haggard opposing the Iraq war, and indirectly the "America First" song, what do you think he meant when he wrote about 'our liberty'? I would venture to guess the contents of the aforementioned 'freedom' definition.
So, let's be clear; Haggard believes in defending the weak, as did Bonhoeffer. Perhaps 'freedom' in the context of war has been given a bad rap in the last decade but let's agree that peace and freedom are not mutually exclusive. You cannot have one without the other. Thanks Abe.
My revisionism?
ReplyDelete