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Chords for Change
August 5, 2004
By BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
A nation's artists and musicians have a particular place in
its social and political life. Over the years I've tried to
think long and hard about what it means to be American:
about the distinctive identity and position we have in the
world, and how that position is best carried. I've tried to
write songs that speak to our pride and criticize our
failures.
These questions are at the heart of this election: who we
are, what we stand for, why we fight. Personally, for the
last 25 years I have always stayed one step away from
partisan politics. Instead, I have been partisan about a
set of ideals: economic justice, civil rights, a humane
foreign policy, freedom and a decent life for all of our
citizens. This year, however, for many of us the stakes
have risen too high to sit this election out.
Through my work, I've always tried to ask hard questions.
Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the world finds it
so hard to keep its promise and faith with its weakest
citizens? Why do we continue to find it so difficult to see
beyond the veil of race? How do we conduct ourselves during
difficult times without killing the things we hold dear?
Why does the fulfillment of our promise as a people always
seem to be just within grasp yet forever out of reach?
I don't think John Kerry and John Edwards have all the
answers. I do believe they are sincerely interested in
asking the right questions and working their way toward
honest solutions. They understand that we need an
administration that places a priority on fairness,
curiosity, openness, humility, concern for all America's
citizens, courage and faith.
People have different notions of these values, and they
live them out in different ways. I've tried to sing about
some of them in my songs. But I have my own ideas about
what they mean, too. That is why I plan to join with many
fellow artists, including the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl
Jam, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, Jurassic 5, James Taylor and
Jackson Browne, in touring the country this October. We
will be performing under the umbrella of a new group called
Vote for Change. Our goal is to change the direction of the
government and change the current administration come
November.
Like many others, in the aftermath of 9/11, I felt the
country's unity. I don't remember anything quite like it. I
supported the decision to enter Afghanistan and I hoped
that the seriousness of the times would bring forth
strength, humility and wisdom in our leaders. Instead, we
dived headlong into an unnecessary war in Iraq, offering up
the lives of our young men and women under circumstances
that are now discredited. We ran record deficits, while
simultaneously cutting and squeezing services like
afterschool programs. We granted tax cuts to the richest 1
percent (corporate bigwigs, well-to-do guitar players),
increasing the division of wealth that threatens to destroy
our social contract with one another and render mute the
promise of "one nation indivisible."
It is through the truthful exercising of the best of human
qualities - respect for others, honesty about ourselves,
faith in our ideals - that we come to life in God's eyes.
It is how our soul, as a nation and as individuals, is
revealed. Our American government has strayed too far from
American values. It is time to move forward. The country we
carry in our hearts is waiting.
-- Bruce Springsteen
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