Dear Natalie

Dear Natalie,

Sorry to say I am not one of your original fans. I wasn't much interested in Country/Western music when you and the Dixie Chicks came onto the music scene. I don't think I had ever heard one of your songs (except that one about Earl and that was only because even MTV played it) until you hit the news 24/7 after your comment about President Bush.

Being a resident of your hometown in Texas, you can be sure I heard a whole lot about you after that. Funny, isn't it, the negative publicity you received after that comment is what made me a fan. I happened to agree with you.

I traveled a lot during that time and, quite honestly, I was getting tired of people outside of our home state assuming I was a right-wing conservative Republican - just because I am from Texas. In 2004, before the election, I found a button that read, "Texas Democrat" which I proudly wore. Believe it or not, total strangers approached me in hotel lobbies and airports with big smiles and handshakes, as if I were a rare breed, an endangered species of sorts. My Texas flag/Kerry-Edwards bumper sticker got horn honks and thumbs-up signs when I was on the highway.

Back home, in Lubbock, your former fans were banning your music from air play, burning your CDs and idolizing the country singers who were calling you "anti-American" and other McCarthy-era names. It seemed as if the entire country turned against you. Your off-hand comment revealing your personal political feelings brought your rising star career smashing to the ground. I really felt badly for you.

When your CD, "Taking the Long Way", came out I purchased it out of curiosity and a strange sense of solidarity. I was surprised to discover I really liked it! It actually blew me away. The songwriting, the sheer musical talent, your amazing voice and the overall attitude of it made me a fan. Blasting your music in my car or in my home became, for me, a latent form of political protest. As I endured another Bush term your voice in my car belting out "Not Ready to Make Nice" made being surrounded by a sea of "W" bumper stickers a bit more tolerable.

Fast forward a few years to 2009. We now have a fairly elected Democrat President with an enormous mess to clean up. President Barack Obama is our elected Commander-in-Chief, the one person all Americans, all good Americans, are bound to support and respect regardless of whom they voted for. Remember, it is un-American to make disparaging remarks about the President of the United States. You taught us that, Natalie!

So, I just wanted to drop you this little note to thank you. To thank you for ruining your career in order to teach the American public how evil it is, how flag-burning, pinko-commie, fascist it is, to say bad things about the President of the United States of America. Thanks to you, Natalie, I am sure no God-fearing, upright, patriotic, flag-flying citizen of our great country would dare speak ill of our President.

Sincerely,
Jenifer