Customer Reviews

Ain't No Rag: Freedom, Family, and the Flag

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First of all, the book has a preface entitled "In America". In this section, Charlie gives the reader a basic overview of what to expect in this book. A lot of the material in the book came from his "Soapbox" articles as posted on his website, over the past several years. On his "Soapbox" articles, he addresses current topics, issues, & events that were going on, around the time his article was posted. Although there are some of these "Soapbox" articles that are just based on some of his personal experiences or topics he just wants to address. To put this book in its proper perspective, it was written sometime between 9/11/2001 and the time it was copyrighted in 2003. Although some of the "soapbox" articles, were written before 9/11/2001.

Some of the things that stood out for me in this "In America" section, included the following:

"Common Sense Through My Eyes":
If 70% of our crime is caused by drugs, why don't we spend 70% of our law enforcement budget fighting drugs.

If the United Nations has proven ineffective & anti-American, why don't we just resign, and let them move to France or somewhere, and let's stop spending our money on them.

In the World of International Politics, why don't we call a friend a friend, and an enemy an enemy.

If some people are dead set against their children hearing the Name of God, or the Pledge of Allegiance in School, why don't we give those parents vouchers so they can send their children to schools of their choice.

If we expect the men & women in our military & the police who patrol our streets to lay their lives on the line for us, why aren't they paid better?

Why do we keep giving cash to other nations, supposedly to feed the starving, when instead we could cut-out the middle man and just send them food. It would help our farmers out.

Why do we screem for more gun control, and ignore the fact that never in the history of man has a gun ever gone out and shot somebody without a finger pulling the trigger?

Why do we stand so firmly against the death sentence to some wanton killer and not say a word about the death sentence given to unborn babies?

Why do we have to be Cuban Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans or African Americans, & etc.? Is all this necessary? Can't we just all be Americans. Isn't that what we've fought for all these years?

Why do antiwar protesters always seem to forget that the reason they enjoy the right to protest is because Americans fought and won so many wars?

No one likes war, but America & Freedom are worth fighting for!!!!

Now: The Book is divided into three sections as follows:
Part One: Cowboy Logic
Part Two: Why I Love America
Part Three: Faith & Family

Cowboy Logic: JUST TO LET YOU KNOW: Charlie is a man of principle:
Example One: CMT Country Freedom Concert for the Salvation Army to benefit the victims of 9/11 invited Charlie to provide entertainment, however they wanted to know the lyrics he was going to sing. So Charlie gave them the lyrics to "Ain't No Rag". The lyrics are written in detail in the book, but bascially its a song about Our Country's Flag is not a rag, its a symbol of Basic American Values, like We believe in God, We believe in justice, in liberty, and "paraphasing" that our enemy's attack on 9/11 will not go unpunished. After receiving the lyrics the CMT folks informed Charlie that he could not perform that song, because it might be offensive to someone. They told him he could perform something else. CMT opted for political correctness. Charlie stood his ground, and turned down CMT's request for him to perform, if he could not perform "It Ain't No Rag".

Example Two: A similar incidence occurred with P.B.S., but this time it was the song "The Last Fallen Hero". This song is basically about we won't stop defending our country & our freedom, until we win the final victory over our enemies, and until the last fallen hero rests in peace. They refused to let Charlie perform this song, out of "Political Correctness", because it might offend someone. Again, Charlie declined to perform. Charlie is a man of principle, he doesn't make his choices based on "Political Correctness", or whether or not its going to offend one of our enemies.

Also in this section Charlie addresses issue after issue, which include among many:
"An Open Letter to the (Liberal) Hollywood Bunch", Loyalty & Support of our Troops, His support of Operation Iraqic Freedom, Memorial Day (He remembers that on D-Day, during WWII, all the churches in his hometown, were full of people praying for our troops & even Hollywood supported them.) Demonstrations, "How Political Correctness is harming this country", "An Open Letter to the (Liberal) Media", School Shootings, Partial Birth Abortion (the actual killing of a baby being born), Veterans, Child Abuse, Homosexuality ("Its not a normal thing, and anyone who says its a natural lifestyle, should go & stick their heads under some very cold water.") Mob Rule, Reparations, Separation of Church & State, Radical Islam, Eco Terrorists, Gasoline Prices, Fiscal Responsibility, Tort Reform, NAFTA, Napster, Trash TV, Greed, "No Mrs. Clinton, it doesn't take a village, it just takes a family." Bill Clinton's Legacy (Kinky sex with Monica in the Oval Office), and many, many other issues.

Part Two: Why I Love America
This section basically describes why Charlie loves "America The Beautiful, The Country", the greatest country in the world. He loves Alaska, the Rocky Mountains, Back Roads, New York City, The Grand Ole Orpy, Music, America's Finest (Our soldiers, firefighters, law enforcement personnel), Fox News (fair & balanced) & The O'Riley Factor, "An Open Letter to President George W. Bush", {thanking him for doing the right thing and protecting our country, while being constantly harrassed by the liberal media}, NASCAR, Football, and many other things he loves about America.

Part Three: Faith & Family:
Charlie defends attacks against "the so-called Christian Right". He defends respectible ministers like Pat Robertson, and the late Jerry Farwell. He addresses the Ten Commandments (They are from God, not Charlie), Christian Music (Christian Music & Secular music can be compatible), Columbine (includes praise for the young lady who stood up for her belief in God, and was murdered), the other Commandment that Jesus gave before facing the cross, "Love One Another", "with the exception of the commandment to love God with all our hearts, the others are all wrapped up in the new one that Jesus gave." (Wow, how peaceful things would be if everyone practiced this.), Heros like Billy Graham, True Saints like Mother Teresa, Habitat for Humanity, Kindness (practicing the "Golden Rule"), Simple Things (life's best memories are simple things, not things based on social status or accolades & etc.), Caring for Children, Thankfulness ("The freely given salvation of Jesus Christ is still available to those who sincerely seek it, & for that we should be most thankful", Charlie is thankful, that God has saved him through Jesus Christ), and many other topics. Also, in this section there is a story entitled "A Carolina Christmas Carol". This is a story about Charlie's Family Life, including a Christmas Story. It's basically a parable about Santa Claus, & about the power of believing.

In conclusion, Charlie puts his heart, work, & money "where his mouth is". He is an active member of St. Judes Hospital Professional Advisory Board, He also performs regularly for The Angelus in Hudson, Florida, this is a home for people who cannot take care of themselves, its for the extremely handicapped. He says the Angelus is one of the genuine examples of love he's ever seen. He & his band perform, and have performed for our troops, for years & years, all over the world. Lately he & his band have been performing extensively for our troops in Iraq, Afganistan & on the Border Area between North & South Korea.

This book has been praised by people such as Sean Hannity, Hank Williams, Jr., Toby Keith, The Reverend Franklin Graham, Lt.Col. Oliver North and G.Gordon Liddy. This is a great book, written by a great American Legend, in my opinion, the one and only Charlie Daniels. Thanks and May God Bless!!!!

' merica Ding dang dooooo! I's a dang dooo dow nah dang, gorsh a dang dooooooooo!!!!! NASCAR dang 'merica dang ol dang dooo mt. dew a dang do!!!!!

What a wonderful book Charley Daniels has written. I say this with a good heart and a love for our country and traditional American values that existed fourty and fifty years ago in this country. True, there were some wrong values in this country fourty and fifty years ago, however, there were more right ones than wrong ones. Yes, there are moral absolutes and Charley expresses them here. If this was 1960 instead of 2003, a book like this would not need to be written. I say 1960 because that was just right before so many wrong changes took place in this country. In 1960 we were still praying to the Lord in our public schools and saying The Pledge of Allegiance in the class rooms with the words "One nation under God" as a part of the pledge. The trouble is that so few of those who read these pages can remember 1960, so, they need this book to understand how to live. Take the principles that Charlie presents here and follow them precisely. This is a treasure trove of thoughts that need to be followed in their entirety. To not do so is wrong. The entire book is cotrect. This is a book that's filled with correct ideas on how to love our wonderful country, our wonderful flag, our Lord, and our wonderful families. Read it all and be proud of our great country, our country's leaders, our flag, our military, our military's leaders, and our president. Read it and turn to the Lord. There are moral absolutes and Charlie presents them here. God bless you, Charlie, and may the Lord bless The United States of America!

Charlie Daniels. The name evokes many things. Plaid. Fiddlin'. The devil. Georgia. But what would you say if I told you Mr. Daniels, in addition to his numerous other gifts, is also the most acute and penetrating social critic since Durkheim? You might be skeptical. Well, you obviously have never read "Ain't No Rag," Mr. Daniels' new tome.

The arguments in this book can be summed up succinctly, despite their awesome complexity: Democrats are bad, Republicans are good; patriotism is good, and only Republicans are "patriots"; "liberals" are trying to destroy our society, despite the valiant efforts of "patriots" to counteract their (liberals') satanic designs; Christians are very good, non-Christians of all varieties are very, very bad, and on a fast track to the Lake of Fire to boot. These arguments, on the surface, might appear somewhat uninformed and, well, dumb--but remember, these insights flow from the pen of Charlie Daniels, one of the most learned, well-informed, open-minded thinkers of our era.

I urge all "real Americans" to read "Ain't No Rag." Do you "love America"? Then embrace it. Don't question it. As reviewer and "true patriot" Bob Creasey says below, in a quote that sums up this book better than I ever could, "Ain't No Rag" is great for "simulating" reading.

Charlie dodged the draft, way back before it was even cool to dodge the draft (late 50s).

Now, the latest do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do Republican lectures us on what to say and how to feel, and oh yes, dissent is not tolerated in Charlie's hellish vision of America.

Pseudo-patriotism at its finest.

One sentence from this book will suffice to show the author's grasp of history: "The French are afraid of their own shadow. The only war they ever won was the French Revolution, and that was only because they were fighting themselves."
What about the Hundred Years War, Mr. Daniels? What about the Thirty Years War? Not a resounding triumph, but settled on French terms. What about World War I? Yes, they took a lot of unnecessary casualties in that war. Dirty little secret, Mr. Daniels: so did we.
You wanna dwell on World War II? Sure, the French got their butts whipped. They still did much better than we would have done, had we had to fight Hitler on land in 1940.
It's deeply ironic that Daniels has morphed into the kind of back country ignoramus that he satirized in "The Ballad of the Uneasy Rider."

Covers his feelings on everything from child abuse to Tennessee football...and you never are left wondering where he stands on the tough issues but brings a bit of fun into it. The biggest thing that stands out is his love of America and the beauty of the land we live in.

Them bearded men shore knows a lot!!!

Charlie Daniels is so annoyingly unintelligent when it comes to politics, it's a wonder how this book even got published. What bugs me more is that people like Sean Hannity and other Republican conservatives actually PRAISE Daniels for his "views"...I say that word very loosely because they're awful. I don't say awful because he is a conservative and I don't like what he has to say, I mean that what he says is like something a five-year-old would say off the top of his head to his parents after downing a 12-pack of Coca-Cola.

I once heard a child at my workplace ask why Saddam Hussein wasn't nicer after a parent descibed him as evil and how he liked to hurt people (which is a good description of Hussein). The child followed this with, "somebody should send him flowers so he won't be so angry."

Yeah, that's the solution...actually, this kind of thinking isn't far off from Daniel's solution on the crime problem in America:

"If 75% of the crime problem in this country is DRUGS, then why don't we devote 75% of our law enforcement to this problem?"

Ho, boy...he calls this "cowboy logic", by the way.

Fox News LOVES to slam celebrities for having their say about Al-Qaeda, Iraq, Bush, etc. They say that they don't know what they are talking about and blah, blah, blah...they have called them "stupid", "irresponsible", and "unpatriotic"...or at least, that's what they think of the ones that don't like President Dubbya or his politics. Daniels goes so far as to attack Barbra Streisand and the like for opening up their mouths to speak out for what they believe in.

There's something wrong with this picture: so, it's perfectly okay for Daniels, a musical artist, to speak out for what he believes in but it's NOT okay for Streisand, another musical artist to speak out for what SHE believes in??? Give me a break.

Two words, folks: double standard.

Another Republican named Laura Ingraham has a new book out that, except for the title, is even worse than Daniels's tome. It's called "Shut Up and Sing". Maybe he should heed those words.

This book, even though it's getting panned, is getting WAY too many good reviews. I guess parts of the American Republican Conservative have spoken and they're saying, "I LUVS some of that there vaniller ice cream!"

Matt

He seems to have more love for land than the people that live on it. And there doesn't appear to be any logic behind his hate. He just hates people because they are not exactly the same as he.

I think that pretty much says it all.