Maines deserves better for speaking her mind on war

NATALIE Maines of the Dixie Chicks should be held up by the United States as a hero (“Fans Not Buying Chicks’ Apology,” by Geoff Boucher, March 19). She speaks the minds of tens of millions of Americans when she calls into question not only the administration’s policies, but the president himself.

Maines’ courage in giving these concerns a voice is not only what democracy was founded on, but a central ingredient in keeping it strong. Without dissent, there is no democracy. Diverse and varied points of view strengthen all who are exposed to them.

Eric Hu

Long Beach

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I’M not a fan of the Dixie Chicks or of country music in general. But today I purchased a Dixie Chicks CD online as a show of support. Maines stuck her foot in her mouth, to be sure, just like John Lennon did with his infamous “We’re more popular than Jesus” statement in the mid-’60s. But the public’s reaction to her remarks looks like an economic lynch mob. Let the kid be stupid; you don’t have to be stupid in return.

Eric Potruch

Westchester

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BURIED in the story about the price being paid by the Dixie Chicks’ anti-war statement is a chilling argument against the continued consolidation of media in this country: One chain, Cumulus, which has country radio stations in 42 markets, has put a moratorium on their music on all its stations, simply because corporate heads disagree with what Natalie Maines said.

Even though, technically, only governments can censor, doesn’t this come frighteningly close? Corporations already tell us what we should listen to; it’s a little scary when they tell us what we can’t listen to.

Ken Narasaki

Venice