Conservative Rock Anthems

Cam Edwards, host of Cam and Company, has an interesting post over at Rare on “5 rock songs that are actually conservative rock anthems.”  He writes:

Welcome back to 2003… an imperial president looks to take a bad situation in the Middle East and make it worse, a secret war wages beyond the eyes of most Americans, even though they may be caught up in it, and endless scandals (“phony”, to be sure) play out in Washington, D.C. committee hearings.  Actually, I guess there’s one big difference between now and then.  Now, you’re much more racist.

If conservatives were great at cultural endeavors, we’d be churning out incendiary protest songs a la Rage Against the Machine and “American Idiot”-era Green Day.  But… that’s not really our style.

Cam makes the case for songs from REM, Neil  Young, The Doors and others.  Obviously, these are not artists who intended to make conservative anthems, but it’s nice to see a list of right-leaning songs that doesn’t include “The Taxman” by the Beatles.  (No offense to the Beatles, just to those who don’t think out of the box.)

Sean Hackbarth at the Chamber of Commerce pointed out that “The Trees” by Rush (the band) is a good example of the current state of identity politics.  Mike Adams also writes about “The Trees” in his latest book, Letters to a Young Progressive: How to Avoid Wasting Your Life Protesting Things You Don’t Understand.

Judge for yourself:

There is unrest in the forest,

There is trouble with the trees,

For the maples want more sunlight

And the oaks ignore their pleas.



The trouble with the maples,

(And they’re quite convinced the’re right)

They say the oaks are just too lofty

And they grab up all the light.

But the oaks can’t help their feelings

If they like the way they’re made.

And they wonder why the maples

Can’t be happy in their shade.



There is trouble in the Forest,

And the Creatures all have fled,

As the Maples scream oppression,

And the Oaks just shake their heads.



So the maples formed a union

And demanded equal rights.

“These oaks are just too greedy;

We will make them give us light.”

Now there’s no more oak oppression,

For they passed a noble law,

And the trees are all kept equal

By hatchet, axe, and saw.