"I don't want to be an American idiot"

Green Day's "American Idiot" has become my latest favorite tune. I find it very cathartic in helping to relieve my post election blues. I've never been much of a Green Day fan. I first heard them on a 5 track promo/sampler cassette that Liz gave me when she was managing a record store and my first impression of their song "Long View" was that they sounded too much like the 80's punk band Circle Jerks. Also, they became so popular so quickly, which only reinforced my snobby revulsion for them. It can take me a long time to forgive bands for having great commercial success. It took me 10 years to forgive U2 and finally actually listen to "Achtung Baby".

I first saw the video for "American Idiot" on the iTunes Music Store about 2 weeks ago. I immediately noticed snippets of the lyrics, things like "welcome to a new kind of tension, all across the idiot nation" and "well maybe I'm the faggot america, I'm not part of a red neck agenda" and "everything isn't meant to be okay". In a time when for many people, "values" seem to be defined by things like "no abortions" and "no queers", instead of things like love, tolerance, compassion, social justice, individuality, and equality, it feels good to hear someone sing a passionate, angry, and infectiously catchy song about how stupid some of our population is.

Even though I'm married and have two kids, it feels good to start thinking about being part of "faggot america" and not part of "a redneck agenda", not that I'm thinking of switching to being gay or deciding to explore bisexuality, but because I'd rather be a part of "faggot america" if that means that gay people can have the same rights that heterosexual people have. Also, I think that the term "faggot america" is being used in the song much same the way nigger, fag, & dyke are now used by blacks, gays, & lesbians- take the epithet thrown at you and adopt it as a badge of honor.

If not hating gay people and thinking they should have equal rights makes me part of "faggot america", then count me in. Also, If I keep listening to this song, I may have to swallow my pride, admit that I was wrong about Green Day, and finally purchase one of their albums.