The Sanity is Contagious

By T. Eve Greenaway, WireTap. Posted September 13, 2004.

When it comes to engaging new voters, PunkVoter just won’t quit. Their second Rock Against Bush compilation has already sold over 70,000 copies and has climbed to the top of the College Music Charts. The coalition of over 200 bands has already registered and motivated a whole new round of listeners and will-be voters. And now the punks are going back on tour.

This time, the tour is being lead by Anti-Flag, the Pittsburgh-based punk band that has been urging young listeners to question authority and take action since 1988. At the helm of Anti-Flag is Justin Sane, the permanently 19-yr-old sometimes solo artist and political activist who appears, over a decade into the band’s history, as ready as ever to change the world.

Along with Anti-Flag, the tour will also include Midtown, Strike Anywhere, and Mike Park.

“This tour is about motivating punk voters to learn more, take action, and make their voices heard” says Sane. To make this happen, PunkVoter will be working with many local organizations and holding educational events, bringing in guest speakers, and showing movie screenings throughout the country to educate and motivate its members.

WireTap caught up with Justin Sane just days before he and his band were heading to Portland Ore., where the tour is kicking off on Sept. 17 at the Roseland Theater.

Q: In the press materials for this second round of Rock Against Bush tour, PunkVoter mentions the “punk community” several times. Can you tell me how you see the punk community?

A: Well, the community I feel I belong to centers around music, to a large degree, but I think overall what draws a lot of people is the idealism and the visionary perspective of the punk scene.

What I love about the community is the fact that that it is very accepting of my faults, as well as my good points. It’s not the kind of thing where you’re gonna be judged by your appearance. It’s also made up of people who believe in being good to each other, and to people over all.

Q: How is this second round of the Rock Against Bush Tour different than the first?

Well, the bands are different, for one. I think many of the bands are more overtly political. I also think there’s more of an urgency. If you look at the polls they show Bush leading Kerry by as much as 10 points in some places. So we’re looking to reach people who have never voted, who pollsters aren’t talking to.

We’re not endorsing John Kerry. But we are certainly endorsing anybody but George W. Bush and John Kerry is the one with the best chance of doing that. The way I see it, if things go well, in 4 years John Kerry will be the one we’ll be trying to get out of office. I see Kerry as a stepping stone.

I voted for Nader 4 years ago and I still feel that the issues he’s addressing, especially trade, healthcare, the environment – almost every progressive issue and the things I truly care about – fall in line with what he stands for.

But I do believe that there are things about Kerry that are better than Bush. A woman’s right to choose, for instance, will be in serious jeopardy if Bush gets elected.

The next president will have the opportunity to appoint 2 Supreme Court justices in the next four years and the Supreme Court makes that decision (about abortion). Bush has also gutted the EPA. And I don’t think Kerry will be incredible [for the environment], but he will be better. Kerry’s platform is based on militarism and I’m not for militarism, so I prefer to see electing him as an important step to take now, versus an end-all, be-all solution.

Q: How do this album and tour fit into the larger picture of the political work that you and Anti-Flag have done in the past?

I was born into a political family. My parents were activists, so I grew up going to demonstrations. It just made sense for me to be in a punk rock band. Punk rock spoke to a lot of issues I cared about.

Anti-Flag has been involved in numerous anti-war events. We also co-founded an organization called Underground Action Alliance, to help get punk kids involved in activism. In October, for instance, we’re going to be doing a student’s rights workshop where we’ll be informing students about what they can do to protect their rights – because when they walk into a school their rights don’t go away.

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