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On freedom of speech, misplaced legacies and double standards

Back in 1982, one of the most popular country singers of his era delivered the following lines: "Blew my last twenty dollars on an Oilers football game/I only lost by half a point, nothing ever goes my way/Reaganomics and plastic people makin' good luck hard to find/All this stuff that's goin' down, really got me down this time." It's worth noting that he didn't write those particular lines himself, but the point still stands.

Tonight I'm conflicted. Part of me is angry that freedom of expression seems to be totally dead in this nation, while another part of me is frustrated that this latest newsworthy incident just epitomizes the now decades-long downfall of one of the best singer-songwriters in the business, and yet another part is happy that one of the things that made the misinformed public and so-called music journalists see him as a caricature instead of an artist seems to be gone from his career.

That Hank Jr. is a conservative should come as little surprise to anybody. Many of us probably remember his self-parody on the McCain/Palin campaign trail back in 2008. But, like Merle Haggard, he's always been one of those songwriters who you could respect for speaking from his heart and standing up for what he believed in, even if you didn't agree. Ironically while Haggard has went from bashing the Vietnam War protesters to joining the opposition against the Iraq War, Hank Jr. has taken to making statements such as "[Obama playing golf with John Boehner] would be like Hitler playing golf with Benjamin Netanyahu."

Well, I stand with Hank Jr. Comparing Obama or any American politician to Adolf Hitler is ridiculous to say the least, but with my personal thoughts aside, how can I say I'm open-minded if I support Phil Ochs calling Richard Nixon a "fascist," but not Hank Jr. expressing his honest, heartfelt political views? The fact that he was fired from Monday Night Football for it is proof of the double standard in this country. And the only way to make it right is to boycott ESPN in the same way country radio boycotted the Dixie Chicks.

But those are just part of my feelings. On another level I wonder why the hell Hank Jr. was on Fox & Friends. Was he performing on the show? Why did the interview descend into political talk? And while we're asking questions, why did he do that stupid "F Word" song with Kid Rock a few years back? And why did he tour with Eric Church? Where is the dude who absolutely poured his heart out and left it lying there for the audience to see on songs like "The Living Proof," "The Blues Man," or "All in Alabama"? Where is the guy who influenced several generations of copycats with Whiskey-Bent and Hell-Bound, easily one of the top 10 country albums ever made? Where is the songwriter who once had his tunes covered by Merle Haggard? And, last but not least, why is Rick Rubin producing Kid Rock records instead of helping Hank get back to the roots of what made his music so great?

When you look at Hank Jr., some of you probably see the ultimate redneck. After all this is the guy who sang "A Country Boy Can Survive" (great song, by the way) and said "Send me to hell or New York City/It would be about the same to me." His best-known songs have to do with drinking and partying and the Monday Night Football gig seemed to really cement that reputation. What you probably don't see unless you dig in deeper is the string of classic albums, the deeply personal ballads and the upbeat numbers that stand out among the best Southern rock has to offer, the pain in his voice and his love for the music. While he openly criticized Donna Summer in song, he also included Van Halen and Suicidal Tendencies in his music videos.

I guess all I want is one more classic album where he proves everybody wrong about him. I want to see him emerge from this ESPN debacle not disgraced, but with the sort of pass Merle gets where he can say whatever the hell he wants about any subject and know that the fans still love him. I want him to see that, as he said himself in one of his songs, that he doesn't have to prove to us that he's "some kind of macho man" by living up to the ESPN sports guy reputation or teaming up with self-proclaimed badasses like Kid Rock or Eric Church. In the end, this firing, unfair though it may be, could be the best thing to happen to his career in decades.

And, lastly, I just saw this point on Twitter from Fifth on the Floor and had to include it, but part of the Williams family legacy is getting kicked out of clubs that don't deserve them, like the Opry for instance.

Comment by Rudyjeep on October 4, 2011 at 1:12pm: "Part of me is angry that freedom of expression seems to be totally dead in this nation..."

I agree with you Adam. I have not seen the interview but I saw a transcript. People that have seen the interview told me he seemed hammered or high. I think he made an analogy (hey, who are two people that I can think of that are opposites?) and he was too dumb to get out of the way when they dug a little deeper. I don't believe he was comparing the President to Hitler; it was a statement for effect - and for the cameras. And while I'm no fan of Hank Williams Jr. (I agree with Tim Carrol, who sang in "I think Hank would have done it this way", that if Hank Sr. were around today, he'd give his son a kick in the butt), are we that divided that we have to vilify someone for what was obviously a poorly thought out live sequence? I hate Tony Bennett, but it was disgusting the way this WWII vet was pounced upon for comments he made a couple weeks ago. I think the more dangerous people are the ones like Dick Cheney who spent years subtly and insidiously linking Saddam Hussein and 9/11. He never came out and said it, but he convinced a majority of the American public that it was so. Eight years later, it is still costing us lives and money. Those are the people we should worry about. I wouldn't get as worked up about an entertainer with a microphone on live TV.

Comment by Kim Ruehl on October 5, 2011 at 12:30pm: "I think the more dangerous people are the ones like Dick Cheney who spent years subtly and insidiously linking Saddam Hussein and 9/11."

Yes, thank you.

Then again, art is in the world to hold up a mirror to all of us. If we can't trust artists to tell the truth as they see it, to mean what they say and say what they mean (through whatever form of poetry they choose to use), then where and how, and by whom, do we expect the truth to be held up?

Comment by Derek on October 5, 2011 at 1:01pm: Comparing Hank Williams Jr. to Merle Haggard is like comparing Hitl..... uh, wait, I better stop.

Comment by MrJM on October 5, 2011 at 1:13pm: If an employee of mine went on national television and compared a President of the United States -- ANY President of the United States -- to Adolph Hitler, I would fire that employee.

And I fully support ESPN's right to do the same.

-- MrJM

Comment by Mark on October 5, 2011 at 1:20pm: Freedom of speech is alive and well. Hank exercised his, and no government forces placed him under custody.

Why do people so often confuse freedom of speech with marketing and PR decisions? ESPN made a business decision. No one's freedom of speech was impinged.

Comment by terry roberts on October 5, 2011 at 1:27pm: I'm w/Adam,...i remember going to see Hank on his Man of Steel tour (still the loudest concert I've ever been to, and I've seen everyone from Sabbath to Waylon to VH to Metallica) and this guy was SUCH a badass, but most people today know him from his MNF shilling (arguably the start of his slide)......IMHO its been 25 years since he made a album worth a shit (Montana Cafe) and 30+ since his last classic (Rowdy) and when he won his 1st Entertainer of the Tear in i think '87, he seemed to fall into the same trap as Waylon did when he hit the peal (minus the vicious coke habit): started staying on the road forever, writing less of his own material, mailing in vocal tracks from remote studios, not actually playing on his records, etc.....it really shows how rare folks like Strait & Merle & Dwight are, artists who put out just as great material today as they did 25,30,40 yrs ago...I agree he takes this as a wakeup to stop grabbing for $ he obviously doesn't NEED, and get back to creating the kind of Hank music he gave up on before a lot of the readers here were born...

Comment by Lost Hills on October 5, 2011 at 1:31pm: Great essay, Adam. Note to Hank: Start making great records again, and you can say any damn thing you want.

Comment by Rockstar Aimz on October 5, 2011 at 1:40pm: Freedom of speech is Hank posting that statement on his own personal blog or something along those lines. When you are on national television it's a different issue, especially when one of your employers is owned by Disney. He can't go to jail for what he said, but he can get fired.

Why did Fox and Friends bring him on in the first place? So weird.

Comment by David on October 5, 2011 at 1:41pm: Great article! I agree with almost everything you said but I happen to support ESPN's decision. The one thing you are missing is that it is okay for an artist to express their opinion but a company has a choice to be associated with that artist after they express those opinions. In this instance Hank was associated with Monday Night Football in a business agreement. He was part of their marketing efforts etc. ESPN simply decided that his opinions were over the top and didn't want to be associated with them. Period. He isn't the first artist or spokesman etc. to suffer the financial consequences due to an opinion they expressed. This really doesn't have anything to do with the first amendment it's just business.

Comment by Katherine Rhoades on October 5, 2011 at 1:41pm: Well said, Mark. And nobody got thrown in jail for waving anti-Obama signs depicting him as Hitler so I think people can say and do just about anything they want in this country.