Patriotism.

There has been a lot of hoopla in the media surrounding the Dixie Chicks. The group, still reeling from last year's comments about President Bush, recently released their latest album "Taking the Long Way" which sold over 500,000 copies. Yet they still find themselves in the midst of controversy. Country music stations have refused to play their music, they have had to cancel concerts in the same cities they had sold out in the previous years, and I can't help but wonder why? The group's critics say that they are unpatriotic, but if having strong opinions about the president is unpatriotic who isn't? I understand that every action, every speech comes with repercussions, but enough already. Why aren't these patriots supporting the women's 1st amendment right? Why aren't they boycotting other "unpatriotic" artists? I'm not even a Dixie Chicks' fan, but I certainly empathize with them. Whatever your feelings on President Bush, the war, and even the Dixie Chicks...isn't our freedom what our troops are fighting for? How is censoring them honoring that? And anyway, in the end, they're just musicians.