Political/Social Messages

The song, Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival, offers a strong opinionated perspective on the Vietnam War. The band displays their disapproval of the war because of the draft game many people played. The Vietnam War drafted men between the ages of 18 and 22, but one could become illegible from being drafted if they were enrolled in a college. This war-avoidance often earned many scornful attitudes from the public.

An example of Creedence Clearwater Revival's disapproval and criticism of the war is when he says "It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no senator's son, son. It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no." This refers to the fact that many people were able to avoid being drafted into the war by having ties within the government. For instance, if one had an uncle that was a governor of Pennsylvania, this individual would be able to avoid the draft. Creedence Clearwater Revival expresses their disapproval of this by saying "I ain't no senator's son."

Another song that offers a strong opinionated perspective on political and social unrest is "Where Is The Love" by Black Eyed Peas. Throughout this song, political motives by the U.S. government are questioned due to the consequences it has had on the society. It is asked, "Where is the love?" multiple times to emphasize the debate over war when war is claimed to be a cause while peace could be the effect. However, Black Eyed Peas disagree with this because "If love and peace so strong. Why are there pieces of love that don't belong? Nations dropping bombs. Chemical gases filling lungs of little ones. With ongoing suffering. As the youth die young. So ask yourself is the loving really strong?" This refers to the consequences and disapproval of the band towards the war effort in post-9/11 era.

Another example in the song, Where Is The Love? by Black Eyed Peas, is when the war effort is questioned due to the social consequences. They emphasize how the war effort has contributed to the deterrence in domestic crime in the U.S. since 9/11. They say, "So I can ask myself really what is going wrong. With this world that we living in. People keep on giving in. Makin wrong decisions. Only visions of them livin and not respecting each other. Deny thy brother." This demonstrates how Black Eyed Peas believe that the U.S. government has become gradually more ignorant to the social issues occurring within the nation while they fight a war overseas.