Tragedy is one of the most influential inspirations for art, including songwriting. In recent times, many artists responded to their feelings toward the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001, with an abundance of artwork, poetry, and songs. One of the songs, Toby Keith's "The Angry American," may conceivably be portrayed as a summation of the artist's patriotic values in a reaction to the event. Although in initial observation it may seem as though the song attempts to also inspire patriotism in its audience, it does quite the contrary, inspiring revenge against acts that hurt or threaten the USA, namely September 11th. Patriotism is defined as positive acts of nationalistic feeling: Keith suggests, however, that vengeance or at least violence defines nationalistic feeling.…
