Cancelling Oliver’s Army

In our age of cancel culture, it seems odd to see an artist cancelling himself. New Wave icon Elvis Costello recently asked radio stations not to play the most popular original hit of his storied career, Oliver’s Army.

He added as well that he will no longer be performing the song publicly. The song contains the n-word, a phrase that was regularly used in 1978 when the song was written but is no longer tolerated.

To the casual listener, Oliver’s Army sounds like a happy, upbeat pop song. It is in fact a cutting social commentary. Costello is of Irish heritage, a group targeted and suppressed by the English for centuries. As a member of the British army, his grandfather was referred to as a “white n-word,” thus the context of the phrase in the song.

The army in Oliver’s Army is indeed that same British army, and Oliver is the detested Oliver Cromwell who not only developed the idea of a paid, standing army, he also used this army to subjugate the people of Ireland.

Today, we continue to have large standing armies and obscene military budgets. Is supporting Oliver Cromwell’s concept of military might a good investment of our tax dollars?

Military domination is based on the concept of forced compliance, but if massive numbers of people choose not to comply with the wishes of a dominant power an army is powerless.

In addition, military violence breeds resentment and resistance. The United States lost wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan and will never gain control in Iraq because their violent ways understandably fail to win the trust of the people. The USA now finds itself at the end of a long list of failed empires.

If investment in “Oliver’s army” is futile, what does effective foreign policy look like? It’s made up of scenarios where all sides benefit, with a particular focus on healthcare and education.

Of course, there will always be a need to establish law and order, but we don’t need large armies to hold a few criminals accountable.

Elvis Costello may have chosen to cancel his own song, but perhaps it is time for the rest of us to cancel the entire idea of Oliver’s army.

Gerry Chidiac is a Prince George

teacher.