RAGE AGAINST THE (BUSH) MACHINE

Lawrenceville, Ga.

Reading your editorial "Songs of Protest" [May 15] I had to chuckle. Did you really refer to the musicians as "courageous"? (I have to look again, just to confirm. OK, you did.) In what way are they courageous? Oh, you mean because they wrote pop lyrics criticizing the President and/or the war? Boy, that is courageous (shivers down my spine)--no one else would dare do that. And they did this in America? In America? Are you sure? And they got away with it? It's a miracle they survived to collect their gawdy royalties. I'll tell you what courageous would be: an Iraqi singing a Saddam Hussein protest song just four years ago. Or a Cuban singing a song to protest Castro's treatment of gays. Now find me that artist, and I'll be the first to call her courageous. (If you need help with her bail or exhumation expenses, just let me know.) Well, I'm inspired by these courageous troubadours of yours. I feel like doing something equally courageous. I think I'll go to the grocery, buy sixteen items and stand in the express checkout lane. Or tip 14 percent the next time I dine out. I'll let you know how it goes, if I survive to tell about it.

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