America is divided and then certain states are even more divided. I live in upstate NY which is almost in every aspect the complete opposite of NYC. Upstate New Yorkers are doing their best to hold on to their hometown values and morals. I’m a glass full person though and hoping things turn around eventually. Great article! Thank you for loving America like a good portion of us Americans do!
Another great article. As someone from Alabama who now lives in Philadelphia I identify with a lot of this. Living in Philly during 2020 was truly a nightmare. At times, it felt like you couldn’t even protect your own home or business without being criticized. Additionally there were a substantial amount of people who relocated to smaller towns as a direct result of this yet they often aren’t honest about why they moved. Hiding behind a computer and getting information solely from social media amplifies the worst of us but, face to face, I find people will listen to each other and coexist.
There is indeed 'Two Americas.' Here's my take, that starts with more than one 'original sin', and posits an America of a rainbow reconstruction vs an America of white redemption and domination. http;//history-and-strategy.org It's a long and deep narrative, but worth the read.
Winston...I know this is anecdotal. I live in north Alabama, a red state. It's a city of all walks of life. We have people from all over the world that live here bc of defense contractors, NASA. We are also a huge tech city. I believe that much of the strife in our country, that is pushed by social media and news outlets, make it appear larger than it is. The narrative that we are all at each others throats and have disdain for one another is not my experience. My family and I have lived here over 20 years and we have friends and neighbors of all races and backgrounds. Many of us differ politically but we all get along and have each others back. Like I said...I can only speak from my own experience.
That’s exactly what I’ve thought is the case at times. By the way, the strength and courage it took you to drastically change your life, in order to keep your voice, is truly admirable. What stood out to me during that time was when you sought Christ for wisdom and direction....He gives the ultimate freedom and makes us better versions of ourselves! It’s true that “if He is for us then who can succeed against us?” Jesus, through my Catholic faith, has done that for me.
I agree with some of this, though not all. I don't usually listen to Aldean but to me this song is NOT about promoting violence. It's about self-defense and defense of your home, neighbors, town, especially when the government and those in power are saying the violence isn't violence. This isn't about murders which can happen anywhere, even in small towns (just look at what happened in nearby Moscow, Idaho). It's about the politically enabled BLM and Antifa violence which caused BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars in damage to cities across America, sustained violence. The politicians and media called it "mostly peaceful" while standing in protective gear in front of hordes of people and massive fires burning homes and buildings. Aldean is saying "try that in a small town and we will defend ourselves, our neighbors, our home." That is not the same as the BLM and Antifa violence. He's not advocating going out in search of people to attack merely for wearing the wrong hat, like BLM and Antifa do. It's about self-defense. I'm tired of seeing people who have the right to defend themselves, their neighbors, and home be accused of the same violence the left perpetrates upon us freely. It's not even close to the same thing.
Hmmmm. As always, your perspective gets me thinking! Thank you!
I'm Canadian and I suspect that small town rural folks here (especially in the West) will relate to Aldean's song just as much as Americans do and there wasn't a civil war here. There is a distinct difference between the East and West and also between rural and urban folk. There must be 'somewheres' and 'anywheres' here too, and before the trucker convoy, Canadians only waved the flag during the Olympic games.
It's also interesting to ponder what Neil Young or Sheryl Crow would be singing, writing and commenting about today had their careers not turned out the way they did, and if their catalogues, tours etc. hadn't been bought by or funded by corporations linked to our friends at the WEF.
Up until recently, most country artists somehow kept their humble roots and related to their fanbase despite their success. I strongly suspect that is because most of them are Christian. Also, Aldean is proudly Republican and that alone gets the woke mob going.
Here in Canada, if a country artist were to release a similar song, I strongly suspect the woke mob would find a residential school near the video shoot and try to make some crazy claim about that.
I live in Alberta and have been travelling around the province for the past few years, specifically going to small towns in an attempt to assess the culture there. I found that the towns and smaller cities with universities/colleges and ag industries were struggling, albeit not nearly as much as bigger cities, with woke ideology. The towns that didn't have these institutions/industries appeared to be free from the culture wars and far more 'conservative' in their belief systems. Keep in mind that the total population of Canada is less than the state of Florida so the crime rates are also considerably less.
Anyway, just some thoughts! Thanks for all that you do!
The "differences" that the culture warriors pretend are so important are entirely manufactured in order to divide and conquer us. Aldean's song is not offensive, just stupid. No different than his detractors, he is just throwing more fuel on the flames of the culture war and then cashing in on the extra attention. Outrage sells. The hysterical over-reactions are as predictable as clockwork. The fairytale of the "pure," homespun, flag-waving, wholesome America versus the urban hoards is not racist, it's just false, the delusions of simpletons pining for a white picket fence la-la-land that never existed outside of Norman Rockwell paintings and Leave It to Beaver. So long as each side has its balladeers, its Jason Aldeans spinning tales of their demographic's martyrdom, victimhood and purity and the other side's moral degeneracy, we will never reach the point where we can achieve the solidarity needed to throw off the yoke of the ruling class to create a society that benefits us all. These myths and petty grievances do more to maintain the status quo for the power elite than anything else. Until we turn our backs on each new demand for outrage, we will continue to work against the best interests of the people--whether those people wave BLM signs or cling to their flag-waving, apple pie, hillbilly symbolism. It's all part of the same destructive system of delusion. This is the "freedom" hard-won with decades of a-historical ignorance combined with decades of lowered standards for education and anti-intellectual hostility. I'd like to think we can do better, be better, know better...but I do not think we can transcend the gutter we have placed ourselves in.
America is divided and then certain states are even more divided. I live in upstate NY which is almost in every aspect the complete opposite of NYC. Upstate New Yorkers are doing their best to hold on to their hometown values and morals. I’m a glass full person though and hoping things turn around eventually. Great article! Thank you for loving America like a good portion of us Americans do!
Another great article. As someone from Alabama who now lives in Philadelphia I identify with a lot of this. Living in Philly during 2020 was truly a nightmare. At times, it felt like you couldn’t even protect your own home or business without being criticized. Additionally there were a substantial amount of people who relocated to smaller towns as a direct result of this yet they often aren’t honest about why they moved. Hiding behind a computer and getting information solely from social media amplifies the worst of us but, face to face, I find people will listen to each other and coexist.
There is indeed 'Two Americas.' Here's my take, that starts with more than one 'original sin', and posits an America of a rainbow reconstruction vs an America of white redemption and domination. http;//history-and-strategy.org It's a long and deep narrative, but worth the read.
Winston...I know this is anecdotal. I live in north Alabama, a red state. It's a city of all walks of life. We have people from all over the world that live here bc of defense contractors, NASA. We are also a huge tech city. I believe that much of the strife in our country, that is pushed by social media and news outlets, make it appear larger than it is. The narrative that we are all at each others throats and have disdain for one another is not my experience. My family and I have lived here over 20 years and we have friends and neighbors of all races and backgrounds. Many of us differ politically but we all get along and have each others back. Like I said...I can only speak from my own experience.
Perhaps the disdain is between the two sides of the media class rather than the people
That’s exactly what I’ve thought is the case at times. By the way, the strength and courage it took you to drastically change your life, in order to keep your voice, is truly admirable. What stood out to me during that time was when you sought Christ for wisdom and direction....He gives the ultimate freedom and makes us better versions of ourselves! It’s true that “if He is for us then who can succeed against us?” Jesus, through my Catholic faith, has done that for me.
This.
I agree with some of this, though not all. I don't usually listen to Aldean but to me this song is NOT about promoting violence. It's about self-defense and defense of your home, neighbors, town, especially when the government and those in power are saying the violence isn't violence. This isn't about murders which can happen anywhere, even in small towns (just look at what happened in nearby Moscow, Idaho). It's about the politically enabled BLM and Antifa violence which caused BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars in damage to cities across America, sustained violence. The politicians and media called it "mostly peaceful" while standing in protective gear in front of hordes of people and massive fires burning homes and buildings. Aldean is saying "try that in a small town and we will defend ourselves, our neighbors, our home." That is not the same as the BLM and Antifa violence. He's not advocating going out in search of people to attack merely for wearing the wrong hat, like BLM and Antifa do. It's about self-defense. I'm tired of seeing people who have the right to defend themselves, their neighbors, and home be accused of the same violence the left perpetrates upon us freely. It's not even close to the same thing.
Hmmmm. As always, your perspective gets me thinking! Thank you!
I'm Canadian and I suspect that small town rural folks here (especially in the West) will relate to Aldean's song just as much as Americans do and there wasn't a civil war here. There is a distinct difference between the East and West and also between rural and urban folk. There must be 'somewheres' and 'anywheres' here too, and before the trucker convoy, Canadians only waved the flag during the Olympic games.
It's also interesting to ponder what Neil Young or Sheryl Crow would be singing, writing and commenting about today had their careers not turned out the way they did, and if their catalogues, tours etc. hadn't been bought by or funded by corporations linked to our friends at the WEF.
Up until recently, most country artists somehow kept their humble roots and related to their fanbase despite their success. I strongly suspect that is because most of them are Christian. Also, Aldean is proudly Republican and that alone gets the woke mob going.
Here in Canada, if a country artist were to release a similar song, I strongly suspect the woke mob would find a residential school near the video shoot and try to make some crazy claim about that.
I live in Alberta and have been travelling around the province for the past few years, specifically going to small towns in an attempt to assess the culture there. I found that the towns and smaller cities with universities/colleges and ag industries were struggling, albeit not nearly as much as bigger cities, with woke ideology. The towns that didn't have these institutions/industries appeared to be free from the culture wars and far more 'conservative' in their belief systems. Keep in mind that the total population of Canada is less than the state of Florida so the crime rates are also considerably less.
Anyway, just some thoughts! Thanks for all that you do!
You are correct, Winston. This whole "hoo-ha" is basically City Mouse vs. Country Mouse on a bloated, ugly level.
The "differences" that the culture warriors pretend are so important are entirely manufactured in order to divide and conquer us. Aldean's song is not offensive, just stupid. No different than his detractors, he is just throwing more fuel on the flames of the culture war and then cashing in on the extra attention. Outrage sells. The hysterical over-reactions are as predictable as clockwork. The fairytale of the "pure," homespun, flag-waving, wholesome America versus the urban hoards is not racist, it's just false, the delusions of simpletons pining for a white picket fence la-la-land that never existed outside of Norman Rockwell paintings and Leave It to Beaver. So long as each side has its balladeers, its Jason Aldeans spinning tales of their demographic's martyrdom, victimhood and purity and the other side's moral degeneracy, we will never reach the point where we can achieve the solidarity needed to throw off the yoke of the ruling class to create a society that benefits us all. These myths and petty grievances do more to maintain the status quo for the power elite than anything else. Until we turn our backs on each new demand for outrage, we will continue to work against the best interests of the people--whether those people wave BLM signs or cling to their flag-waving, apple pie, hillbilly symbolism. It's all part of the same destructive system of delusion. This is the "freedom" hard-won with decades of a-historical ignorance combined with decades of lowered standards for education and anti-intellectual hostility. I'd like to think we can do better, be better, know better...but I do not think we can transcend the gutter we have placed ourselves in.