By Chris Houston
Photos: YouTube Screenshots
American country musician Kris Kristofferson was a military veteran and anti-war activist. He continued his advocacy against the Gulf Wars and benefit concerts for Palestinian children despite the negative impacts that both had on his career. Kristofferson died on September 28 at his home in Hawaii, aged 88.
Kristoffer Kristofferson was born in 1936 in Brownsville, Texas to mother Mary Ann and father Henry Kristofferson. His father served in WWII and the Korean War as a brigadier in the US Army Air Corps.
In 1958, Kris Kristofferson won a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, England. After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, became a helicopter pilot, and rose to the rank of captain. After his military service, Kristofferson worked as a commercial pilot before his music career took off.
Kristofferson’s musical career included songwriting for others. In 1965, he penned Vietnam Blues. The spoken-word song narrates a veteran’s disappointment with anti-war protesters and became a massive hit for country music star Dave Dudley.
Later in his career, Kristofferson’s politics and music became distinctly anti-war. “They’re killing babies in the name of freedom,” was the opening line of his 1990 song Don’t Let the Bastards (Get You Down). As the fifth track on his album Third World Warrior, it was released just months before the United States launched the Gulf War. Lyrics in the song include, “we’ve been down that sorry road before…It’s too late to fool us anymore,” and, “it’s getting hard to listen to their lies.”
Kristofferson’s disdain for the Gulf War was on clear display during a New Zealand television interview. In May 1991, Kristofferson toured with Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings who performed as the supergroup The Highwaymen. During the tour, the group appeared on the local current affairs show Holmes. Host Paul Holmes asked the musicians what was ailing the United States. Kristofferson gave a three-part answer. He spoke of “flag waving and choreographed patriotism that we had back in Nazi Germany, a half a century ago.” Kristofferson said that the U.S. had a “one party system, which is in control of all three branches of our government” and described a “lap-dog media that is cranking out propaganda for the Administration that would make a Nazi blush.”
Kristofferson’s critique of U.S. media was not new. One month prior, political scientist and journalist Jim Naureckas had robustly critiqued the US media reporting about Iraq, noting the prevalence of pro-war, anti-peace, and racism in coverage. Naureckas detailed and critiqued the lack of separation of journalists from the U.S. government.
In the Holmes interview, Johnny Cash also spoke about what he saw as troubles in American society. Cash said that “there’s too much money being spent on military and there should be more spent on education and welfare – young people, the children, and the elderly, especially the elderly.” Cash ended his critique with an emphasis on his patriotism, “there’s always been a lot of things wrong with the country, but it’s always been our obligation and opportunity to help straighten it out. I love America. I love this country,” he said.
The Gulf War lasted a little over six months and ended in January 1991. In March 2003, the U.S. launched the Second Gulf War, sometimes called the Iraq War. Three years later, Kristofferson released his first album of new material since 1995. Track five, In the News, leaves listeners with no doubt about Kristofferson’s views. The fifth verse starts: “Not in my name, not on my ground. I want nothing but the ending of the war.”
Kristofferson knew that his politics hindered his career, but he was undeterred. Stephen Miller’s 2009 biography quotes Kristofferson, “I found a considerable lack of work after doing concerts for the Palestinian children and for a couple of gigs with Vanessa Redgrave and if that’s the way it has to be, that’s the way it has to be. If you support human rights, you gotta support them everywhere.”
Chris Houston is the President of the Canadian Peace Museum non-profit organization and a columnist for The Bancroft Times.
