-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.zolatimes.com/V3.2/pageone.html">Laissez Faire City Times - Volume 3 Issue 2</A> The Laissez Faire City Times January 11, 1999 - Volume 3, Issue 2 Editor & Chief: Emile Zola ----- Fighting the Cultural War by Sunni Maravillosa At the Libertarian Party of Colorado convention some years ago, science fiction author L. Neil Smith made a comment that gets repeated in various circles: "You can't fight a cultural war if you ain't got any culture" [1]. Since then, I've seen it interpreted in various ways, one of the most frequent being that the freedom movement doesn't have much of a popular culture. It's also become a convenient excuse: "More libertarians would get elected if our ideas were in the mainstream culture more often"; "We have the best ideas but they're hard to demonstrate"; and "You can't reduce the freedom philosophy to sound bites" are some of the more common ones I've heard, in various forms. Libertarian memes don't get much TV time, but I think that's actually to our benefit--most people seem to turn off their brains when sitting in front of the television. Some folks, desperate for any sign that pop culture acknowledges our existence, cheer each movie that has any hint of a libertarian idea, no matter how fleeting. For example, Independence Day and Mars Attacks have been proclaimed "libertarian films" because in them the White House gets blown up, and the aliens kill Congress, respectively. While these may be among the fond wishes of some libertarians, an anti-government attitude is hardly exclusive to those of us who value freedom. Some truly pro-freedom films exist, and more certainly would help our cause. However, I don't think the large and small screens are the best places to plant our ideas: by and large watching television and movies is a mind-numbing activity that disables higher thought processes. Fiction is fertile ground for spreading pro-freedom ideas--one look at the continued success of Ayn Rand's novels attests to that. The only genre with authors who seem to recognize this is science-fiction writers like L. Neil Smith and F. Paul Wilson have continued in Heinlein's tradition of creating new worlds and universes to explore the implications of the freedom philosophy. They typically do so in ways that are so engaging that it's easy to overlook the political ideas amid all the action, but the ideas don't go away. Many pro-freedom individuals credit these authors, among others, with showing them the value of free minds and free markets. Unfortunately, many people turn up their noses at science fiction, and, with few exceptions, general fiction doesn't contain freedom-oriented themes. The area that is arguably the most overlooked by those who bemoan the lack of a "freedom culture" is mainstream music. Believe it or not, if one looks, one can find strong individualist and other libertarian themes in music that gets airplay around the world, every day. This shouldn't be too surprising; after all, it was the music of the 1960s that helped propel the anti-war, do-your-own-thing ideology of that generation into the Peace and Love movement. Interestingly, even though many of the singers and songwriters of that time proclaimed their socialist ideals, in their rebellion against authority they often expressed sentiments that make libertarians grin. Perhaps one of the best-known examples is from The Who's song "Going Mobile": "watch the police and the tax man miss me, I'm mobile!" [2] The Beatles, Peter, Paul, and Mary, and the Moody Blues are all examples of popular groups of the 60s whose politics were socialist or collectivist, yet contained anti-government or pro-individual lyrics in their songs. In today's music, the message is more often than not clearer--and louder. Yes, the bastion of loud, liberal, sex-worshipping, irritate-your-parents music has a number of bands who eschew the juvenile content for more meaty themes. Rock music still has its share of performers who fall into the same mixed-message category as the 60's groups mentioned above--Sting, Pink Floyd, and John Mellencamp come to mind--but there are other groups who don't seem to have this dichotomy in their songs. The Canadian band Rush is arguably the most libertarian band around. Sometimes described as progressive rock or "hard" rock, Rush resists categorization. The trio--Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart-- weave intricate music around lyrics (almost all by Neil Peart) that almost always warm a freedom-lover's heart. In their early days, the influence of Ayn Rand was clear; an album was titled Anthem, as was a pro- individual song, and the liner notes of the album 2112 contain the credit "with acknowledgement [sic] to the genius of Ayn Rand" [3]. The song "2112" is a musical interpretation of Rand's Anthem. None of the band members claims to be libertarian, yet each release (over 15 studio releases in the band's 24-year existence thus far) contains lyrics sure to please libertarians. The theme Peart addresses most frequently is individualism, yet others are explored. These include: censorship (Witch Hunt [4]); the importance of both emotion and reason (Cygnus X-1, Book II [5]); persistence in the face of adversity (Cut to the Chase [6]); one-size-fits-all laws (The Trees [7]);and nationalism (Territories [8]). Other rock bands also extol the virtues of individualism. Queensryche has done so from time to time, most notably in the song "Best I Can" (from Empire [9]). Triumph and Tesla are two other bands with uplifting songs for libertarian audiences. Even the "metal" band Metallica has intelligent, libertarian lyrics. The release Metallica is probably best- known for them, as they're sprinkled throughout it. "Don't Tread On Me" [10], one of that CD's most popular songs, strikes a purely libertarian posture: "Never begins it, never, but once engaged . . . Never surrenders, showing the fangs of rage". The song is often interpreted by Metallica's non-libertarian fans as a patriotic one--they don't recognize the non-aggression principle, and fail to consider that the United States has often been the initiator of force against individuals and other governments. It's rumored that Metallica's front man, James Hetfield, has publicly stated that he's a libertarian, but in researching this article I found no documentation to support that claim. Punk, new wave, and other alternative forms of music also have pro- freedom themes represented, often in satirical lyrics, such as Oingo Boingo's "Perfect System" (from Only A Lad [11]). The same CD has a nice defense of capitalism in a song that's sure to bother liberals. Devo, The Pogues, and The Rainmakers are other groups with libertarian themes in their music. Music plays an important role in the shaping of a culture. Because most of popular music tends to be somewhat repetitive, and because popular songs get repeated exposure on the radio, their messages get into one's mind in ways that academic treatises and even the most gripping fiction can't. Which lyrics would you rather have stuck in your mind: "Eat the rich--there's only one thing that they're good for--eat the rich"(Aerosmith, "Eat the Rich" [12]) or "I will choose a path that's clear; I will choose free will" (Rush, "Free Will" [13])? Music is a close approximation to a sound bite in size, but its effects are much more durable. For example, many libertarians credit Rush with introducing them to the freedom philosophy. In fighting the cultural war for freedom, we need all the tools we can get, and we can't afford to throw away one as powerful as music. In addition to whatever you currently have in your arsenal, consider making tapes of your favorite pro-freedom songs to give to libertarian-leaning friends. Or, buy used tapes or CDs of the artists mentioned above that you think your friend might like. The songs may not have the intellectual firepower of "The Myth of the Rule of Law" [14], or the scope of Atlas Shrugged [15], but they may be the key that opens the door of her or his mind. Reference Notes 1. "Where No Libertarian Has Gone Before", presented 4/26/96 at the Colorado Libertarian party Annual Convention. Also published in The Libertarian Enterprise, May, 1996. 2. "Going Mobile," by The Who, on Who's Next. UNI, 1971. 3. "2112," by Rush, on 2112. Polygram, 1976. 4. "Witch Hunt," by Rush, on Moving Pictures. Polygram, 1981. 5. "Cygnus X-1, Book II," by Rush, on Hemispheres. Polygram, 1978. 6. "Cut to the Chase," by Rush, on Counterparts. Atlantic, 1993. 7. "The Trees," by Rush, on Hemispheres. Polygram, 1978. 8. "Territories," by Rush, on Power Windows. Polygram, 1985. 9. "Best I Can," by Queensryche, on Empire. Capitol, 1990. 10. "Don't Tread on Me," by Metallica, on Metallica. Elektra, 1991. 11. "Perfect System," by Oingo Boingo, on Only A Lad. A & M, 1981. 12. "Eat the Rich," by Aerosmith, on Get a Grip. Geffen, 1993. 13. "Free Will," by Rush, on Permanent Waves. Polygram, 1980. 14. "The Myth of the Rule of Law," by John Hasnas, published in the Wisconsin Law Review, 1995. 15. Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. First published in 1957 by Random House. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Sunni Maravillosa is a psychology professor, a writer, and the web mistress for the Liberty Round Table. -30- from The Laissez Faire City Times, Vol 3, No 2, Jan. 11, 1999 ----- Disclaimer The Laissez Faire City Times is a private newspaper. 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