Johnny Cash and war

Post by **SonomaCat** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:59 am

I just found this interesting since, along with many people, I have been a huge Cash fan for about the last 10 years, and I always found the politics in his music interesting.

http://www.reason.com/hitandrun/2006/03 ... tml#013095

RyeCat · Post by **RyeCat** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:19 am

I just found out about his politics recently, as well. We watched "Walk the Line" recently and I was doing some reading about Cash. Do you think his stand on war comes from his less than satisfactory stint in the Air Force, or he just had a fundamental hatred of violence, perhaps due to his father?

Post by **SonomaCat** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:38 am

RyeCat wrote:I just found out about his politics recently, as well. We watched "Walk the Line" recently and I was doing some reading about Cash. Do you think his stand on war comes from his less than satisfactory stint in the Air Force, or he just had a fundamental hatred of violence, perhaps due to his father?

Both of those could well be very big influences. Good points.

For the most part, he was also not a big fan of authority, and was a proponent of the underbelly of society (the whole "Man in Black" thing), and obviously was sympathetic towards people incarcerated. In a lot of ways, he was quite a leftie. He seemed to be a Christian who (in my opinion) really followed the teachings of Christ, which included looking out for the less fortunate, turning away from violence (Don't take your guns to town ... echoes of "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword"), and looking for redemption in people who had made mistakes.

The line from Roseanne about him almost being a Quaker in his pacifism is somewhat telling -- his views on war probably were a direct reflection of his Christian faith.

Ponycat · Post by **Ponycat** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 12:27 pm

Bay Area Cat wrote:
RyeCat wrote:I just found out about his politics recently, as well. We watched "Walk the Line" recently and I was doing some reading about Cash. Do you think his stand on war comes from his less than satisfactory stint in the Air Force, or he just had a fundamental hatred of violence, perhaps due to his father?
Both of those could well be very big influences. Good points.

For the most part, he was also not a big fan of authority, and was a proponent of the underbelly of society (the whole "Man in Black" thing), and obviously was sympathetic towards people incarcerated. In a lot of ways, he was quite a leftie. He seemed to be a Christian who (in my opinion) really followed the teachings of Christ, which included looking out for the less fortunate, turning away from violence (Don't take your guns to town ... echoes of "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword"), and looking for redemption in people who had made mistakes.

The line from Roseanne about him almost being a Quaker in his pacifism is somewhat telling -- his views on war probably were a direct reflection of his Christian faith.

SO does Johnny believe its OK to steal from where you work so you can have a nice car.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:34 pm

Ponycat wrote:
Bay Area Cat wrote:
RyeCat wrote:I just found out about his politics recently, as well. We watched "Walk the Line" recently and I was doing some reading about Cash. Do you think his stand on war comes from his less than satisfactory stint in the Air Force, or he just had a fundamental hatred of violence, perhaps due to his father?
Both of those could well be very big influences. Good points.

For the most part, he was also not a big fan of authority, and was a proponent of the underbelly of society (the whole "Man in Black" thing), and obviously was sympathetic towards people incarcerated. In a lot of ways, he was quite a leftie. He seemed to be a Christian who (in my opinion) really followed the teachings of Christ, which included looking out for the less fortunate, turning away from violence (Don't take your guns to town ... echoes of "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword"), and looking for redemption in people who had made mistakes.

The line from Roseanne about him almost being a Quaker in his pacifism is somewhat telling -- his views on war probably were a direct reflection of his Christian faith.
SO does Johnny believe its OK to steal from where you work so you can have a nice car.

How do you think "he" ended up in Folsom Prison? The whole "shot a man in Reno just to watch him die" thing was just a front so the other inmates would think he was a badass.

iaafan · Post by **iaafan** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:42 pm

Ponycat wrote:
Bay Area Cat wrote:
RyeCat wrote:I just found out about his politics recently, as well. We watched "Walk the Line" recently and I was doing some reading about Cash. Do you think his stand on war comes from his less than satisfactory stint in the Air Force, or he just had a fundamental hatred of violence, perhaps due to his father?
Both of those could well be very big influences. Good points.

For the most part, he was also not a big fan of authority, and was a proponent of the underbelly of society (the whole "Man in Black" thing), and obviously was sympathetic towards people incarcerated. In a lot of ways, he was quite a leftie. He seemed to be a Christian who (in my opinion) really followed the teachings of Christ, which included looking out for the less fortunate, turning away from violence (Don't take your guns to town ... echoes of "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword"), and looking for redemption in people who had made mistakes.

The line from Roseanne about him almost being a Quaker in his pacifism is somewhat telling -- his views on war probably were a direct reflection of his Christian faith.
SO does Johnny believe its OK to steal from where you work so you can have a nice car.

Probably not, but I imagine he thinks it's better than stealing from where you work so you have a nice pickemup truck and use it to drag minorities down country roads until they're dead.

Post by **SonomaCat** » Fri Mar 24, 2006 1:47 pm

iaafan wrote:Probably not, but I imagine he thinks it's better than stealing from where you work so you have a nice pickemup truck and use it to drag minorities down country roads until they're dead.

Wow! That was a harsh non sequitur!

Although I hope you have struck upon a point which we can all agree is true. Very, very true.

catsrback76 · Post by **catsrback76** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 9:05 am

Bay Area Cat wrote:
RyeCat wrote:I just found out about his politics recently, as well. We watched "Walk the Line" recently and I was doing some reading about Cash. Do you think his stand on war comes from his less than satisfactory stint in the Air Force, or he just had a fundamental hatred of violence, perhaps due to his father?
Both of those could well be very big influences. Good points.

For the most part, he was also not a big fan of authority, and was a proponent of the underbelly of society (the whole "Man in Black" thing), and obviously was sympathetic towards people incarcerated. In a lot of ways, he was quite a leftie. He seemed to be a Christian who (in my opinion) really followed the teachings of Christ, which included looking out for the less fortunate, turning away from violence (Don't take your guns to town ... echoes of "he who lives by the sword, dies by the sword"), and looking for redemption in people who had made mistakes.

The line from Roseanne about him almost being a Quaker in his pacifism is somewhat telling -- his views on war probably were a direct reflection of his Christian faith.

That is the case. Though as most Christians do, he struggled through life dealing with the demons of yesterday, he did hold a personal commitment to Christ who greatly influenced his views on war, charity, moral issues, and life purpose.