Post-9/11 America was a scary, jingoistic place. The perceived threat of terrorism was everywhere. That same September, five people died in what became known as the "anthrax attacks." By October, we had invaded Afghanistan. Later that month, the Patriot Act was passed, giving law enforcement then-unprecedented powers of surveillance over American society. As of November, more than a thousand Muslims had been detained without charge on the flimsy suspicion of terrorist sympathies.[1] And that same month, the heart-pounding TV show 24 premiered, bringing the dramatized danger of “dirty bombs” and “suitcase nukes” into American living rooms on a weekly basis.
Stores sold out of American flags[2], yellow ribbon car magnets featuring the motto "Support Our Troops" became a common sight on American roadways, and "God Bless America" was performed during the seventh inning stretch at Yankee Stadium for the first time, in what has become a lasting tradition. It was also during this time that Toby Keith wrote "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue," as country music became the genre of the era.
The following year and into early 2003, America was once again on the march to war, this time with Iraq, as the George W. Bush administration conjured a threat of Saddam Hussein's supposed "weapons of mass destruction" in order to justify a costly invasion of the country. In a national atmosphere of equal parts patriotism and paranoia, most Americans supported the war, with one opinion poll finding 72% in favor.[3] President Bush's approval rating was 71%, an unimaginable number in our time.
To oppose the war, or the President, was verboten. To do so within the context of country music was unthinkable. Enter Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks. "We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas,"[4] she told a London crowd in March 2003, mere days before the invasion of Iraq.
The backlash was swift. The band "received death threats and was banned by thousands of country radio stations"[5]. In Louisiana, country music fans used a 33,000-pound tractor to destroy Dixie Chicks CDs[6]. And in Colorado, two DJs were suspended from their radio station for daring to play the Chicks’ music. (The pair were forced to clarify that "they support wholeheartedly the president of the United States. They support wholeheartedly the troops, the military. But they also support the right of free speech."[7]) Maines eventually apologized for her remark, saying "I love my country. I am a proud American," and adding that she and the band "support the troops."[8] By this time, Toby Keith was displaying doctored photos of Natalie Maines alongside Saddam Hussein at his concerts.[5]
George W. Bush himself weighed in on the matter, telling NBC's Tom Brokaw that, "They can say what they want to say. And they shouldn't have their feelings hurt just because some people don't want to buy their records when they speak out. You know, freedom is a two-way street." This was one of the first defenses of what's become known today as "cancel culture," and echoes the commonly-heard refrain these days that "freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences."[9]
Today, so called "cancel culture" is seen as a mostly left-wing phenomenon, as individuals on social media—both public figures and private citizens alike—can face career-ending backlash for making problematic or simply ignorant remarks on social justice, feminism, or transgender subjects. A letter in this week's Harper's Magazine signed by 153 prominent writers, journalists, and academics identifies "cancel culture" as "an intolerance of opposing views, a vogue for public shaming and ostracism, and the tendency to dissolve complex policy issues in a blinding moral certainty," adding that "it is now all too common to hear calls for swift and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions of speech and thought."[10]
On the other hand, "free speech" has been wielded as a cudgel by the likes of white supremacists and transphobes in defense of their hateful, dangerous rhetoric, and so called "cancel culture" is a way for traditionally powerless minority groups to challenge and hold them accountable for their words, according to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.[11] The left and the right are in a tug-of-war for that ever-changing line between what is considered acceptable and unacceptable speech, and well-meaning liberals, such as many of the Harper's signatories, are caught in the middle.
That's where I find myself, too. Of course, mob rule should not determine the boundaries of free speech, but neither should vulnerable groups be victimized by hateful speech. Moreover, "community standards" are set by the community,[12] so there must necessarily be a role for the public shaming of repugnant ideas. How big of a role that should be in the era of social media is a matter of constant, necessary debate.
But we should remember that cancel culture hasn't always been left-wing—as we learned from the Dixie Chicks—and it won't always be. Sensibilities can change for the better or the worse, and what is today a tool of social justice could become a weapon of social repression tomorrow. It should be wielded with caution.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detentions_following_the_September_11_attacks
[2] https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2003/03/28/Patriotism-boosts-American-flag-sales/56001048885689/
[3] https://news.gallup.com/poll/8038/seventytwo-percent-americans-support-war-against-iraq.aspx
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/mar/12/artsfeatures.popandrock
[5] https://archive.vn/20121206045558/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1196419,00.html#selection-107.196-107.282
[6] https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/71953/protesters-destroy-dixie-chicks-cds
[7] https://web.archive.org/web/20060303055537/http://www.nbc6.net/entertainment/2185232/detail.html
[8] https://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/14/dixie.chicks.apology/
[9] https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/free-speech-doesn-t-mean-speech-free-all-consequences-despite-ncna1026911
[10] https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/
[11] https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1281392795748569089
[12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_standards