Chrissie Hynde grew up in Ohio, was likely rebellious toward her parents and their view as was so often in those days of anti-war protest revolving around the Vietnam War. What's more, she attended Kent State University as a music arts student and one of her best friends on campus had a boyfriend who was one of the four students killed in the National Guard campus tragedy. This undoubtedly added to her view of the government and policy and not too long thereafter she went to Europe. She came back for a while to Ohio but ultimately settled in London, where she lives today. As she got older, however, while her politics and lifestyle continued to reflect her views, she learned the art of tolerating those with whom she didn't agree. She also developed a respect for her then aging father, realizing that her parents were both from a different age and that they loved her. So, she enjoyed spending time when in the country visiting with him and she watched him come alive through his devotion to the latest craze on the radio starting in the late 1980's, talk radio. Rush Limbaugh was his favorite and she remembered that.
So, when President Trump presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Ms. Hynde sent a message to the President thanking him for doing so. She said that while she disagreed with Rush on most issues, he was a great entertainer and wasn't afraid to voice his opinion in front of twenty-million listeners and that her father always loved it. Rush mentioned that on his radio program, telling a little known secret which now the world would know. And he also explained how the publisher of the music had tried to refuse the Rush Limbaugh Program from further use of the song as it's theme, but Chrissie Hynde told the publisher to leave it alone. He did, and the music prior to the words sung by the singer open his show every day as they have for years. And I don't know about the rest of you, but for the singer, a woman of much different views than either Rush or her late father, to stand up for what she remembered just because the memories were wonderful was refreshing to me. Maybe we should consider that as just a small message supporting tolerance, grace and the acceptance of different viewpoints and political and religious beliefs to stand. After all, what we see today is a one way street and if liberalism continues its push to silence those who disagree with their view, the counter push will be dramatic and it won't be good for anyone with the chaos that will erupt. Freedom means we are all free to voice our views and hold our cherished religious beliefs and I'm glad that Chrissie Hynde has gave just a small example of what that can mean.
And by the way, if you don't know the song, the link below will take you to her group, The Pretenders, and her rendition of the song on youtube. The title is The City is Gone and it tells her study of going back to her hometown in Ohio and finding it, or at least as she knew it, gone. Just copy and paste to your browser to listen.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=thu8DWsirJo