TBC - In the NY Times Today

Saw this on the train this morning (along with the 9 other people who
actually had to work today)..


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/25/opinion/25coben.html

November 25, 2005
Op-Ed Contributor
Rock and a Hard Place
By HARLAN COBEN
Ridgewood, N.J.

ON May 26, Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, sponsored a
resolution congratulating Carrie Underwood for winning the "American
Idol" television program.

Last Friday, Senators John Corzine and Frank Lautenberg, Democrats of
New Jersey, sponsored a resolution congratulating Bruce Springsteen on
the 30th anniversary of his album "Born to Run."

Guess which resolution got shot down by the party in power?

In the recent past, Senator Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, has
seen fit to sponsor resolutions recognizing "Sun Studio's Contribution
to the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll," and commending the Grand Ole Opry on its
80th anniversary. There have been House and Senate resolutions
congratulating or commending musicians, artists and athletes like Chris
LeDoux (a rodeo champion and musician), Michael Campbell (a golfer from
New Zealand) and Siegfried and Roy.

But no love for the Boss.

Senator Frist or one of his colleagues didn't let the resolution come up
for consideration.

I confess to having a bias here. I am from New Jersey and a big Bruce
Springsteen fan. In fact, on several occasions in recent years I have
even gone to Bruce Springsteen concerts with my childhood friend,
Christopher J. Christie, the United States Attorney for New Jersey,
arguably the state's most prominent Republican, a Bush appointee, an
honorable man and a total Springsteen freak. In his office in Newark, he
has a guitar signed by the Boss on his wall. Chris probably wears a
black "Born to Run" concert T-shirt as a pajama top, but I can't swear
to that.

Bruce Springsteen's music, especially "Born to Run," meant a lot to
Chris and me growing up. It still means a lot to us. But now I wonder.
Will Chris have to take his guitar down from the wall? Now that I've
outed him as a Springsteen fanatic, will this hurt his standing with
Senator Frist and company, with the administration, with the Republican
Party? And really, when you think about it, isn't it pathetic that those
last few questions aren't asked in jest?

Love him or hate him, there can be little doubt of Bruce Springsteen's
contribution to culture and music. You can't even fault the guy on the
personal stuff. By all accounts, he is a good husband, father, man.
Unlike many of his musical colleagues, he has never been involved in
scandals or self-destructive binges: "No drug busts, no blood changes in
Switzerland," the singer Bono said. "No bad hair periods even in the
80's."

So why was he denied this honor?

That's a rhetorical question, of course. Does anybody on either side of
the political aisle really believe that the Springsteen resolution was
turned down for any reason other than political payback for backing John
Kerry?

We are so shameless now, so openly hostile to one another, that we don't
even pretend otherwise. Here is how the senate power structure works:
the resolution sponsored by Senator Gordon Smith, Republican of Oregon,
honoring that golfer from New Zealand passed unanimously - but
commending one of the seminal albums and musicians of the past 30 years
gets nixed right away? Come on.

What happened to embracing diversity of opinion in this country? What
happened to the idea that a healthy opposition is good for us, that it
helps clarify our own views, that only when one idea is shown better
than another does it truly strengthen? And when did we stop listening to
the other side, if for no other reason than it's polite, humane and hey,
it helps us hone our own viewpoint?

I don't love it when musicians or actors (or novelists, for that matter)
get on their soapbox. I know my friend Chris doesn't agree with
everything the Boss says. Neither do I. But we listen. Part of the
paradox here is that many of Mr. Springsteen's characters - the factory
worker, the soldier, the working stiff seeking release, the Friday-night
racer looking for escape - would vote Republican.

But it doesn't matter to the Boss that his own creations may disagree
with him. He loves them anyway. Maybe he loves them even more because of
it.



--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - http://www.Mailgate.ORG
.

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