Not the first time I've been accused of that. I know that 'anti-war' can mean anti-Iraq, anti-intervention, or anti-all war, among other things. I don't think his record supports anti-all war or anti-intervention, I didn't see anything from him specifically about Iraq, so I don't think he probably would fit into the 'current everyday life' usage of anti-war. Nor do I think he would necessarily be aligned with the Dixie Chicks. If I had to guess I'd say he would be more apt to have the opinion that it was in poor taste although certainly within their right to say. Some are and some aren't, and some are against them all. He was a huge advocate of social consciousness, for sure. But he was more complex I think than being put into one camp. As pointed out above, I don't think he'd have been supportive of the Dixie Chicks opinion, although he would have supported their right to say what they wanted.
Same with Merle. It would be tough to find a more (small c) conservative song than "Are the Good Times Really Over?". He wrote quite a few flag-wavers as well.
Me neither, but in the context of the times he was writing songs like Muskogee & Fighting Side, he certainly was coming from the right. Again, like Hayes said, it's hard to lump these guys into any one group.
I don't give a frog's fat ass about the political views of my favorite bands/artists. For me, music should be an escape from the every day world, not a reminder of it. EDIT: This is not to say I don't enjoy music with a message. If you want to tell everyone about how you feel about an issue, don't issue a public statement and/or launch into a political diatribe between songs at your shows..... write a song about it.
