It feels like we've been living in a vicious cycle in America for decades. For every bit of progress we make, we end up right back in the hole. Endless meddling in foreign affairs, social unrest, economic dissent, the list of political issues remains bountiful. It's always surreal to see people take issue with the same problems we have today. Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson were never afraid to voice their issues with the United States.
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Recently, a tweet surfaces online in the aftermath of losing Kris Kristofferson. There, it shows a video demonstrating his character, the kind of man he was in his life. Alongside him are the rest of The Highwaymen where they sit down for an interview. They ruminate on their current state of affairs in the United States of America at the time in 1991. Unsurprisingly, they don't think everything is as rosy as some of their other country counterparts might believe.
Kris Kristofferson and The Highwaymen Lay Out Their Problems With America in the 90's
Willie takes the lead first, followed by Kris and company shortly afterwards. "There's a lot of things wrong with this country. I think the spirit is still here, the spirit just needs to scream a little bit," Nelson explains. "They say the wheel that does the squeaking is the one that gets the grease. So it's time for the spirit to scream a little bit."
Then, Kris does not mince words with his issues with America at the time. He slouches in his chair and rips off a litany of reasons why he believes the country is in the gutter. "It reminds me a lot of the flag waving and choreographed patriotism that we had back in Nazi Germany half a century ago," he says. "The fact we got a one party system which is in control of all three branches of our government. Lapdog media that's cranking out propaganda for the administration that would make a Nazi blush. Other than that? We're doing pretty good."
Scorching stuff there from Kris Kristofferson. Johnny Cash comes after him to stress how there's too much spending on the U.S. military and not its own citizens. He explains that it's vital to straighten out in areas the country lacks, especially if you claim to love the country like Johnny does. "If you ask me, one of the illnesses is that there's too much money being spent on military and there should be more spent on education, welfare, the children, our elderly," he says.