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Mostly say "Hooray for our side" [1]

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Date: 2023-10-21  

Popular music featured much more diversity in the 1960s and 70s than it does today, and one noteworthy strain that was common then was the Protest Song, driven largely by the Vietnam War. The most hard-hitting example may have been Ohio, by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, which was released in 1970 following the shooting, during a war protest, of four Kent State University students by Ohio National Guard soldiers. The song begins with:

Tin soldiers and Nixon's comin'

We're finally on our own

This summer I hear the drummin'

Four dead in Ohio

Ohio, by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young

But another song, one that was possibly more poignant, was For What It’s Worth, by Buffalo Springfield. While Ohio had a direct message criticizing the outrageous result of authoritarian over-reaction, For What It’s Worth was directed more against mindless partisanship of all sorts. This is the song that comes to my mind as I follow the reactions to the current situation in Israel. Especially this verse:

What a field day for the heat

A thousand people in the street

Singing songs and they carrying signs

Mostly say, "Hooray for our side"

For What It’s Worth, by Buffalo Springfield

That line, “Mostly say, ‘Hooray for our side’” captures so much of what is going on in the world (and the United States) today. Because if “our side” is right and the “other side” is wrong, then any relevant moral issue can be expressed in simple “black and white” terms: “Four legs good; two legs bad!”

We’ve seen, of course, President Biden express America’s [official] unwavering and unconditional commitment to support Israel. But we’ve also been hearing (often with outrage) of the support that many Americans are showing for the Palestinians. We know about the university professor who expressed “exhilaration” at what Hamas did, but there have also been newsworthy showings of support even by high school students. For example:

Dearborn Fordson students organize walkout in support of Palestine

But the pattern is pretty clear, if we care to notice it. Some people can be counted on to support Israel—including its leader, Benjamin Netanyahu—no matter what, because Israel is a friend of “our side” and the West Bank settlements don’t matter. But others can reliably be expected to side with the Palestinians—including Hamas and Islamic Jihad—because the Palestinians represent “their side” and the killing of innocent non-combatants needn’t be mentioned. (Feel free to reverse the pronouns “our” and “their”.) And tribalism is always the easiest path to follow. “My country (or people, or political party, or whatever), right or wrong!” Taking the time to sort out the basic, underlying moral and ethical issues and decide how those principles ought to be applied in the current situation is just too much trouble. Too complicated. Too much effort. Tribalism is both more natural and much easier. Even for “our side.”

I think I’ll go listen to For What It’s Worth again.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/10/21/2200773/-Mostly-say-Hooray-for-our-side?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web

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