Posting news items about Natalie Maines' idiocy is literally beating a horse, but since she isn't quite dead news yet, what the heck? It's a slow day.
"The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism," Maines resumes, through gritted teeth. "Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country... I don't see why people care about patriotism."
And hm, why do you suppose Maines can "like [her] life" so much? Why can she live like a queen and prance around on a stage and have money thrown at her for singing songs other people wrote? Because she lives in America, that's why, and apparently she's a social free rider.
Free-riding is an economic term that's used when one takes more than their fair share of a resource and/or doesn't contribute fairly to its production. For instance, tax evaders enjoy the benefits of a stable government without paying for them. Similarly, Natalie Maines and her ilk enjoy the benefits of living in a free and prosperous country without even noticing the sacrifices made by others that were and are necessary to maintain our country. People like Paul Varner gave their lives to protect Natalie Maines' ignorance, so that she doesn't have to lay awake at night wondering when the front line is going to reach her and the people she cares about.
Natalie Maines doesn't have to struggle to put food on the table despite the fact that her only ability is singing, which is essentially worthless. Shakespeare himself was a pauper, and I doubt she's got anywhere near his talent. Historically, singers, bards, and other performers were barely better than homeless drifters... and why does she live in a mansion? Because better people than her have loved our country and our people enough to die for them.
Natalie Maines is worthless scum, and just about everyone knows it but her. She isn't "brave" for standing up to... what? Criticism? She isn't profound or insightful or even a particularly interesting performer. She's nothing, and the world won't long remember her. Her net impact on society will be zero. If someone Googles "Natalie Maines" a hundred years from now all they'll find is this post and others like it decrying her cowardice, ignorance, and self-absorption. So, I hope she does enjoy her life, because that fleeting pleasure is all the substance she'll ever have.
(HT: DeoDuce.)
