Now in its eighteenth year, Farm Aid has become a national institution, working to save the family farm. Originating with the ageless Willie Nelson, and with Young and John Mellencamp---"our little band of outlaws," says Nelson---the annual day-long show has become a treasured icon of vibrant culture and progressive politics for an age in desperate need.

It has not mellowed with age. As George W. Bush babbled on national television, demanding billions more to "rebuild" Iraq, Mellencamp delivered a blistering indictment of an administration defined by death and pillage. Why are we spending all this money over there, he wondered, when our own farms are in such tough shape here. Dressed in his signature blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt, the Indiana-based Mellencamp mixed a ballad to peace and justice into a strong set built around vintage rock classics.

... Fittingly, PBS will broadcast two hours of the show from 9-11pm EST, November 27 (check your local listings). As America digests its Thanksgiving dinner, it might contemplate Willie Nelson's message that this is "more than a struggle about farms, it's about the little guy v.s the big guy, about the family farm vs. the factory farm, and about the community vs. the corporation."

Amidst all else it's doing, the Bush Administration is working hard to turn over the last bit of farmer-owned agriculture to the mega-corporations. From pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizer to genetically modified foods and financial pillage, the American family farm is hanging on by a thread. As times get harder and the nature of our food is even more under attack, Farm Aid has become increasingly essential.

"The key to securing healthy food for tomorrow is to keep family farmers on the land today," says Nelson. "It's about the very future of our country."