Bruce Springsteen Criticized for Singing Anti-War 'Fortunate Son' at Concert for Valor [WATCH]

Bruce Springsteen is finding himself in a bit of trouble this morning following his performance at the Concert for Valor, the free Veteran’s Day concert held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Along with Dave Grohl and Zac Brown, Springsteen performed a rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s 1969 classic “Fortunate Son,” whose anti-war message rubbed plenty of people the wrong way, with many feeling it was an inappropriate song choice at a concert honoring our nation’s veterans.

In an editorial on conservative website The Weekly Standard, Ethan Epstein wrote that Springsteen, Grohl and Brown's performance of "Fortunate Son" was "tone deaf" and a "terrible choice given that [the song] is, moreover, an anti-draft song, and this concert was largely organized to honor those who had volunteered to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq."

Plenty of viewers also took to Twitter — of course — to voice their outrage, which you can check out below:

On the other side of the debate, however, Springsteen's supporters are pointing out that though "Fortunate Son" may be anti-war, it is not anti-veteran, and that it criticizes those who are willing to put our veterans in danger for an unjust cause.

Moze Halperin of Flavorwire asks, "On a day when we celebrate people who, to a great degree, have been mentally and physically maimed by war, is it such a bad thing to sing a song that questions the ease and frequency with which our citizens are asked to engage in this self-destructive ritual?"

It is worth noting that Springsteen also performed his own anti-war anthem "Born in the U.S.A." to little outcry, because people apparently still do not understand what that song is about.

You can check out a fan-shot video of Springsteen's performance here:

What do you think of Springsteen's performance of "Fortunate Son"? Let us know down in the comments section.

Tags

Bruce Springsteen, Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Zac Brown, Zac Brown Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Ccr, John Fogerty