I first commented in an open thread, but thought this deserved its own diary, just to make sure you didn't miss The Boss on 60 Minutes. Bruce spoke to our new foreign relations guy Scott Pelley (remember that interview with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) like I wish our democratic elected officials would. Bruce is The Man... Our Man.
In my previous comment in the Open Thread, I transcribed a portion of what Bruce and Scott said. When someone asked for a link, I looked for the video online and found not only the video but the full transcript. So I'll quote one of the important passages here, and you can read the full transcript clicking through the link, where the video is also located.
"What's on your mind? What are you writing about?" Pelley asks.
"I guess I would say that what I do is I try to chart the distance between American ideals and American reality. That's how my music is laid out. It's like we've reached a point where it seems that we're so intent on protecting ourselves that we're willing to destroy the best parts of ourselves to do so," Springsteen says.
Asked what he means, Springsteen tells Pelley, "Well, I think that we've seen things happen over the past six years that I don't think anybody ever thought they'd ever see in the United States. When people think of the American identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping. They don't think of voter suppression. They don't think of no habeas corpus. No right to a lawyer ... you know. Those are things that are anti-American."
Now, Pelley speaks for us ALL (snark)
Bruce answers him like a statesman. (no snark there)
"You know, I think this record is going to be seen as anti-war. And you know there are people watching this interview who are going to say to themselves, 'Bruce Springsteen is no patriot,'" Pelley remarks.
"Well, that's just the language of the day, you know? The modus operandi for anybody who doesn't like somebody, you know, criticizing where we've been or where we're goin'," Springsteen says. "It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to someplace that you love so dearly. And that has given me so much. And that I believe in, I still feel and see us as a beacon of hope and possibility."
Springsteen: Silence Is Unpatriotic - Transcript and Video