  John Walker's Blues (Steve Earle)
Steve Earle inteview on CNN's Crossfire CARLSON: The Revolutionary War gave us "Yankee Doodle." The War of 1812 gave us "the Star-Spangled Banner." "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" came along during the Civil War. There are hummable tunes associated with just about every U.S. war, except the war on terrorism. Now, singer Steve Earle is attempting to fill that void with "John Walker's Blues." Unfortunately, it's a sympathetic take on the life of Taliban American John Walker Lindh. Who knows how well it will sell? You never know, though. So, to the tune of "John Walker's Blues," Steve Earle joins us here in the CROSSFIRE. BEGALA: Let me begin, you got a lot of grief for this song, because it takes the first person narrative of John Walker, the American Taliban. Did Johnny Cash get a lot of grief when he sang in "Folsom Prison Blues" that "I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die?" Did that make country fans around the country to shoot people in Reno for no good reason? EARLE: Well, I didn't think for one second that this was exactly the same thing. I mean, I knew I was going to get a lot of grief. In fact, I got grief, most of it from exactly the people that I expected to. I mean... BEGALA: Who were they and what did they say? EARLE: "The New York Post" and the local talk radio host, who actually was my lawyer for about 30 seconds back in the '80s. And it -- you know, it was some people that I expected to react that strongly to. And you know, most everyone else has at least acknowledged, number one, that I actually have the right to write anything that I want to. And that's part of what a democracy is about. And understood that speaking when you assume a character, you're writing in the first person, you are assuming character. It doesn't really have anything to do with my views, it's lending someone else a voice. CARLSON: Well, I mean, nobody here in Washington would contest your right to write whatever you want, and if it's a good tune I hope it's judged on basis of that rather than on the politics, but my question was, why John Walker? This kind of annoying rich kid from Marin County, of all the people you could pick? EARLE: Because I got a 20-year-old son and I guess I reacted to it differently. When I first saw him, which was probably on CNN like everybody else did, I saw an underfed 20-year-old, you know, and I have got a 20-year-old. I have a son that's about four months younger than he is, and who looks underfed even when I feed him. So I reacted to it as a parent. I realized that he probably had parents and that they were probably sick. BEGALA: In fact, our president, it's interesting you say that, that's how he reacted at first. President Bush's first comments about this where he said, "looks like a troubled young man," and I suspect his kids, his girls are right about that same age, and maybe he too first began looking at this as a dad first. And law enforcement had to do its job, but are you familiar -- do you ever read the Eudora Welty (ph) short story about the man who murdered Medgar Evers? She wrote in his first person. And it is one of the most chilling stories I've ever read. She wasn't trying to praise the man who murdered Medgar Evers like a dog, but by taking his voice, it gave us an enormous insight into the kind of person (UNINTELLIGIBLE). EARLE: Yeah, I mean, I don't condone what John Walker Lindh did, because I'm sort of the older I get, I don't even hunt anymore, I occasionally humiliate a fish before I put it back in the water is about as violent as I get, and I have a problem with anybody who takes up arms against anybody for anything, and for any reason, and especially when it's supposed to be for spiritual reasons. You know, jihad and crusade are words in different languages that mean the same thing. CARLSON: But you say you have a problem with people that take up arms -- in your liner notes, I think, in this album, you talk about who some of the real American heroes and patriots are, in your opinion. Here are some of the names you list -- John Reed, Emma Goldman, Abby Hoffman, Bobby Seal, Malcolm X. Now, whatever else they were, leftist of course, but apart from that, these are all people who espoused to one degree or another violence. EARLE: Well, I mean... CARLSON: Every one of them. EARLE: Yeah, I think most of them, but I think at one period or another, is the key term here. I know -- you know, I probably -- I grew up during the Vietnam War and I'm a product of that. I grew up with that war on television, and it went on for so long that I actually was old enough to be drafted before it was over with, and I don't remember a time that I didn't hear about it. And so I come from that background, and I'm not an apologetic lefty, but I don't know think any of that has anything to do with why I wrote this song. This is strictly a matter of there are plenty of people vilifying John Walker Lindh. And I felt, I've done it before, I've done it with other characters and other songs, some fictitious, some people that actually lived. And I felt like it was necessary because no one else was going to write this song but me. BEGALA: That's true. You wrote a song called "Billy Austin" about a murder, which is another terrific song, I'm a big fan as you can tell. You wrote a song called "Jonathan's Song," not about a fictitious character.
And this guy asked me to witness his execution. I didn't really know how to say no. I spent a lot of time trying to avoid ending up in this. And it's no secret I'm opposed to the death penalty that's where my major activism. It's where I do most of the work outside of my day job that I do. It was a pretty horrific thing and it took me a long time to process it. But that was the same thing. I was writing -- Jon was guilty, innocent guys to don't write me for some reason and my opposition of the death penalty comes from -- it's a spiritual -- I'm opposed to it politically. But also, if this is democracy, if the government kills somebody, then I'm killing somebody. And I object to the damage that does to my spirit. It really that is basic for me. BEGALA: Steve Earle, the album is "Jerusalem." Congratulations. I love it terrific album. Great effort. Thank you for joining us. CARLSON: Thank you. Free speech | Eminem | Twisted | Hallowe'en story | Don Smith video case | Ivan Cohen | Search and seizure | Bill C-36 | Expanded CSIS powers | Encroachments on U.S. Fourth Amendment | Zundelsite |
index to individual injustice stories | Index to Saskatoon Police stories An international case of a Winnipeg woman fighting extradition and possible wrongful cnviction: Monique Turenne See also the cases of wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution in Saskatchewan where innumerable people have been publicly smeared as violent pedaphiles and numerous others have had their Charter Rights illegally taken from them for trying to make the truth public. Foster Parent case | Martensville | Defamation cases | What's a fair settlement? | Clayton Ruby revisits Stinchcombe| The U.S. Justice Project | From the University of Missouri at Kansas City School of Law | Visit Jurist | for a whole list of famous trials | or chronological prepared by Dr. Linder | Inherit the wind |
