March 15, 2003
A Message From Nerissa Nields
Good morning, Nields fans,
As you all know, if you read those updates Patty sends out, Katryna and I
were supposed to be in Canada this weekend. Instead, we're home in Western Massachusetts witnessing the most seasonal spring we've ever known in these
parts. Usually, March comes in like a cranky lamb and goes out like a wet cold blanket. But today, two days after the vernal equinox, it is mild, the
birds are singing and when I walked Mia this morning I saw the first half-inches of tulip leaves poking through the newly denuded ground.
So we tried to get on our Air Canada flight but they wouldn't let us.
Apparently, now that we are a nation at war, one needs to cross all T's and dot all i's, and though we smiled our best Nields smiles, we were denied. So
instead of doing what we love best, which is performing onstage in front of people we only kind of know, we are rehearsing, learning new songs. I am
writing a new one called "Glow in the Dark Plastic Angel." Also, I am calling my senators to tell them what I think of this war and how our
government is handling things, because as helpless as I feel, I know I'll feel better if I throw my drop into a bucket I believe in.
I read this today in the New York Times:
Many music and radio executives said that they felt that artists were being
discouraged from doing anything out of the normal. They pointed to the recent flap over disparaging comments Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks made about
President Bush, which has led to her music being banned on several radio stations and promotional stunts that involve dumping Dixie Chicks CD's into
trash cans. They also mentioned that producers of both the Grammy Awards and the Academy Awards have asked winners not to mention the international
situation in their acceptance speeches. (The Dixie Chicks' lead singer, Natalie Maines, told a London audience, "Just so you know, we're ashamed the
president of the United States is from Texas.")
Questioning the patriotism of Hollywood activists is a favorite theme of
celebrity-bashing Internet sites. Famousidiot.com is a case in point. Under the banner, "They don't speak for US," the site ranks celebrities according
to the number of "anti-Americanisms" they've supposedly uttered.
Number One: I find myself in the unusual position of being grateful that I am
not famous enough to get radio play and therefore do not have to worry about having it taken away from me. Natalie Maines said what she wanted to say and
is being punished for her First Amendment right to speak her mind. The rules are different in wartime? Oh, dear. I think I will buy a few extra copies
of the Dixie Chicks new album Home to give to people as gifts. (It's one of my favorite albums of 2002. It rocks.)
Number Two: What is "patriotism"? I learned in school that this word meant
deep love and support of one's country.
I am a patriot. I love the United States of America. I pledge my allegience. Does that mean I do not question authority? Does that mean I
bow my head and go along when a President (who was not actually elected by a majority of the people) deliberately misleads the public by trying to make us
believe that an (albeit unsavory and nasty) dictator was responsible for the attact of 9/11 when in fact there is no evidence at all to support that?
This land was made for you and me. O beautiful, for purple mountains, for amber waves, for spacious skies, for brotherhood and sisterhood and religious
freedom and tolerance. For refuge, for the open arms of Ellis Island and the dignified serenity and pride of the Statue of Liberty (a gift from the French, by the way).
Today, I am going to be grateful that my enforced confinement here is keeping me from using any more fossil fuel. Every day I choose not to drive is another drop in that bucket I believe in. I will take this day to write my songs and novels and make phone calls and write e-mails, walk my dog, clean my house, pray for peace. And support the troops abroad by praying for their safety and also the safety of those they are bombing. It's a paradox, but that's what life's about.
God bless you all, and God bless the United States of America. And God bless the land and people of Iraq.
Love, Nerissa
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