A music video is making the rounds.
Jason Aldean is famous, but I had never heard of him. We are in the same country, but in different cultures.
I suppose that is my point.
The song is "Try that in a Small Town." It intersperses scenes of crime and demonstrations in urban settings with lyrics about the rough justice meted out in small towns.
The song starts:
Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk
Carjack an old lady at a red light
Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store
Ya think it's cool, well, act a fool if ya likeCuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you're tough
The song isn't anti-violence. It is us vs. them. Because small towns are:
Full of good ol' boys, raised up right
If you're looking for a fight
Try that in a small town
Try that in a small townTry that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
Around here, we take care of our own
You cross that line, it won't take long
For you to find out, I recommend you don't
Try that in a small town
The video drew controversy. The setting is the courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee where a Black teenager was attacked by a mob and lynched in 1927. The film uses stock footage from around the world. It drew criticism for its choice of setting and for glorifying violence. The song includes the line
Got a gun that my granddad gave me
They say one day they're gonna round up
Aldean says cancel culture is out to get him. Fox News gives him air time. He says the song celebrates small town, take-care-of-each-other values. Aldean's wife, Brittany, has a clothing line imprinted with texts including "Conspiracy Theorist," "Trump," "Burn it down," and "Don't tread on our kids." They are spokespeople in the culture war. They had been invisible to me until they emerged from the country music circuits into mainstream news. That country silo is huge, but I am not in it so I don’t see it.
To get a feel for the emotion and politics of this song, invest the three minutes to listen to it. Or some of it. The real meaning, for the purposes of a political blog like this one, is that the song expresses the sense of estrangement from urban America. It creates a caricature, a straw man. But amidst this carnage, to use Trump's word from his inauguration, small towns are fighting back. It is our country.
This song resonates with many Americans. Trump's belligerence and crudeness is not a bug. It is a feature.
I did need to hear that song, but it ruins my day. Horrid music (I don't listen to country, sorry),
but it is interesting to know it is there.
Offend a white lady.
Or just get accused of it.
At age 14.
President Biden is expected to designate a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother Mamie Till-Mobley on Tuesday. It would have been Emmett Till’s 82nd birthday.
Expect the monuments to be repeatedly defaced.
In a small town.