Kakki wrote, in response to a series of posts on Joni's own political
leanings, leftward or rightward:
"A few months back on the list someone posted a link to a recent interview
with Joni where she came out against Bill Clinton with a few remarks that
some people here would not find complimentary. Not one person commented on
this here."
Kakki, I don't want to read into your comment a suggestion that Joni's
comments against Clinton, whatever they may have been, implied that she did
not sympathize with the goals of the political left, because I'm not at all
sure that's what you meant. However, if it is, I can only say that I
certainly don't think that remarks against *Bill Clinton,* of all people,
mean that the speaker in question disagrees with the left. Many of us who
would firmly place ourselves left of center on the political map have
criticized Clinton as well, either because 1) we find the rightward drift of
the Democratic party under Clinton and other self-styled "New Democrats" to
be ideologically objectionable (see also Ralph Nader), 2) we find his
personal lapses repugnant, and some of his political practices (e.g.,
campaign fund-raising) questionable.
So it could be that no one on the list, including those who identify as
left-leaning, commented on Joni's remarks because many agreed with them!
And that's regardless political affiliation, which could well be in keeping
with what you wrote in the next comment in your post.
And Mark in Seattle wrote:
"I doubt that Joni subscribes to any particular political party or
group either here or in Canada. Joni strikes me as much too
independent in her thinking to go along completely with any one
philosophy or religion or train of political thought. She takes
whatever truth she discerns in everything she learns about & forms her
own ideas & opinions."
I agree completely. I see Joni as a free spirit who certainly availed
herself of the experimentation and freedom of the 60's which people usually
associate with the left. And some of her later work (notably, _Dog Eat
Dog_) put a distinctively liberal slant on specific political issues.
However, she also sees to possess a strong streak of "personal conservatism"
that I can't quite put my finger on (perhaps related in some way to her
Canadian prairie upbringing in the 1950's?). And I also remember her
comments that she did not consider herself a "feminist," a term which, if
I'm recalling correctly, she mainly associated with the leftist women's
movement of the 60's and 70's, as that played out in everyday life then.
Perhaps Joni has made a career out of rebelling against "rules" of one sort
or another precisely because, on one level, she's so aware of them.
The bottom line is that I don't see Joni subscribing to "isms" of any
stripe, in either her personal or professional life.
Mary P.
