Muhammad Ali's Song 'Lyndon Johnson Told The Nation'

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The song “Lyndon Johnson Told the Nation” by Tom Paxton relates to the U.S. Protest by

Muhammad Ali. In the song it says “I got a letter from L.B.J., it said, “This is your lucky day. It’s

time

to put your khaki trousers on. Though it may seem very queer, we’ve got no jobs to give you here,

so

we are sending you to Viet Nam”” . Which describes sending someone to war to war who didn't

want

to go to war.

The story of Muhammad Ali's protest against going to war fits perfectly with the song in

my

opinion. He didn't want to go to the war because he probably wanted to focus more on his boxing

career, instead of fighting an unjust war; declaring himself a “conscientious objector”. This earned

him

a prison sentence (which was later overturned