I am an international IBMA member from the Netherlands. All I wish to say about the controversy which arose at the recent IBMA show is: Keep American politics out of bluegrass. The two (should) have nothing to do with each other! Mr. Bush’s foreign policy is losing support fast, both at home and abroad. If bluegrass is linked with the declining image of current U.S. foreign policy, bluegrass is bound to become tainted and will lose support around the globe. This, of course, does not mean that I, and many others abroad, don’t empathize with all the U.S. servicemen and -women that are doing their jobs under very difficult circumstances, far away from home. Bluegrass should, and does deal with those issues, witness Rhonda’s latest album. But U.S. politics and patriotic displays should not have a place at an award show which claims to be international.
