In a message dated 2/20/2003 11:46:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > does anyone want to venture an opinion about > what Joni thinks of the proposed war against Iraq? > > I remember her saying in an interview that, during the Vietnam War, the press lumped her in with the peace movement. But the truth of it was that rather than protesting, she was performing for the soldiers down in Camp Lejeune. She really felt a lot of compassion for the soldiers, and that was what moved her to action. This is where she met Killer Kyle from The Beat of Black Wings. It seems to me that she chronicles war as it affects people personally which is part of the beauty of her writing. I'm glad that she chooses to stand back from speaking publicly, because her ideas come out so brilliantly in her art, and she does that by relating some personal detail that somehow resonates universally and transcends the issues of the moment to address something greater. When Killer Kyle talks about his girl aborting their child, and how the powers-that-be pick wars for the soldiers to die in--she sums it up with "The old hate the young, that's the whole heartless thing." Wow! That's it in a nutshell! No matter what the political reasons, she blind-sides you with an observation like that!!! If asked about the impending war, I imagine hearing her, in that Canadian accent: "Oh, you know, the old are always eager to send the young off to slaughter, eh?"
Ken
