Roger Waters is a talented man who, along with guitarist David Gilmour, was largely responsible for the incredible success of the band Pink Floyd. Albums such as Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall have sold tens of millions of copies and have made Waters very wealthy.
Roger Waters is also an intelligent man. One doesn’t create the quality of music that Waters has without a significant intellect, and if we’ve ever seen him interviewed as he discusses his achievements it’s clear he’s a smart guy. But Waters isn’t nearly as smart as he apparently thinks he is.
Roger Waters has been quick to offer his political opinions for years, and very seldom has he ever faced significant backlash from the media in the west. Why? Because Waters has almost always taken the side of the left, and such political stances aren’t just tolerated, they’re applauded.
But recently Waters has been beating a different drum. His target has changed. No longer is Waters criticizing Margaret Thatcher for her hard-handed approach to the miners’ union in the U.K., and Mr. Waters isn’t criticizing George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq. Roger Waters isn’t even criticizing Donald Trump for… well, for being Donald Trump. All those criticisms are celebrated. Instead, what Roger Waters is doing is taking shots at (gasp) President Joe Biden and his approach to the war in Ukraine. And he’s gone so far as to call Biden (shutter) a “war criminal.”
The 78-year-old rocker has been making the accusations during shows from his “This Is Not A Drill” Tour. According to BANG Showbiz:
“The concert opens with the stern statement: ‘If you’re one of those ‘I love Pink Floyd, but I can’t stand Roger’s politics’ people, you might do well to f*** off to the bar.’
Waters… blasted Biden for ‘fuelling the fire in the Ukraine’ amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of the country led by Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
‘Well, he’s [Biden] fuelling the fire in the Ukraine, for a start – that is a huge crime. Why won’t the United States of America encourage [Volodymyr] Zelensky, the [Ukrainian] president, to negotiate, obviating the need for this horrific, horrendous war that’s killing … We don’t know how many Russians.’”
Waters isn’t just hammering Biden; he’s hitting him with many of the arguments being made by right-wing political opponents here in the states. Waters has been criticizing the unassailable government and leaders of Ukraine, as well as NATO. And that’s just too much for the left in America to take. As a result, the backlash against Waters has been loud and severe. Spend a few minutes perusing social media or searching the web for anti-Waters comments, and you won’t have to look far.
To his credit, Waters has stuck to his guns, and he’s even appeared on CNN to make his case. Roger Waters isn’t backing down to Cancel Culture. But make no mistake, Cancel Culture is coming for him, and when it does, it will come with a vengeance.
For many of us, we hear Waters’s comments and we smile. It’s nice to watch the left implode and turn on one of their own. But ultimately, Roger Waters should just be quiet on politics. You want to lecture us in your song lyrics, that’s one thing. But just because you’ve been blessed with immense talent doesn’t mean we care about your politics. Even if we happen to agree with Roger Waters this time around, we should be consistent in rejecting the very idea of rock stars and other celebrities standing in their pulpits to preach their politics to us.
Like Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Bono, and so many others, Roger Waters has made the mistake of assuming that since we like his music, that gives him license to shove his political ideas down our throats. It doesn’t. Like the rest of them, Roger, you need to pipe down… Unless, of course, you’re playing one of your great songs.
By Jess Lawson
Jess Lawson is a regular contributor to The Blue State Conservative and a passionate, conservative millennial who loves America.
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Featured photo by Brennan Schnell from Canada, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
This story syndicated with permission from The Blue State Conservative