John Fogerty
...t the people fighting in the war were born mostly in little shantytowns and some were criminals. Springsteen is trying to show that the people fighting in the war were mostly the lower-class people in our society that no one really cared about. He then sings, “Born in the USA” and “I was born in the USA” many times in the song to show the irony of the people that were fighting in the war. In the song, Springsteen is an American, but is being treated badly and forced to fight in the war because he is working-class. The name of the song is supposed to be sarcastic, not patriotic, to show that the Americans who fought in Vietnam were targeted and mistreated. Both artists show how the working-class was made to fight in Vietnam. Fogerty centers his song about the irony of patriotism in the Vietnam War. He sings, “Some folks are born made to wave the flag / Ooh, they're red, white and blue.” Fogerty is describing how the working-class are supposed to be patriotic, and therefore, should be the ones fighting in the war. He then sings, “Some folks inherit star spangled eyes.” This is describing the situation that working-class people inherit the responsibilities of being working-class through blood. They are supposed to see everything they do as being patriotic, and have to fight for their country no matter what the reason for war is. Fogerty then sings that “When you ask them, ’How much should we give?’ / They only answer more, more, more.” He is explaining that when the working-class does accept their situation, the rest of society tells them to give more. The working-class were looked down on, and the middle-class or high-class did not care about their pain or sufferings, as long as they were not the ones fighting. Fogerty is showing how patriotism was used against the working-class in justifying that the working-class should be the ones to fight in the Vietnam War. Springsteen centers his song about the hardships during and after the war for the soldiers. He sings, “I had a brother at Khe Sanh fighting off the Viet Cong / They’re still here, he’s all gone/ He had a woman he loved in Saigon.” These lines show that many working-class soldiers had family and friends in the war and that their lives were being wasted for an unworthy cause. Sprinsteen then sings, “Come back to the refinery / Went down to see my V.A. man / He said ’Son, don’t you understand?’” These lines show the lack of respect...