I've Had It With the Progressive Left
They finally picked the wrong target with me, Jason Aldean, and his great new song, "Try That in a Small Town." He's not wrong. I'm fighting back.
Growing up in small towns across Oklahoma - Kingfisher, Guymon, Stillwater, Washington, etc. - country music was a way of life. So were pick-up trucks, cowboy boots, high school football on Friday nights, and chicken-fried steaks at the local truck stop. But the music brought to life not the events and emotions of rural life but the values still evident, if not under attack. The music deserves and needs to be heard, promoted, and defended.
I’m not a huge country music fan but remain attached to the genre. It’s part of my DNA. I still know the words from many of the songs by legends such as the late Johnny Cash and especially my late fellow Oklahoman, Merle Haggard. Two of Haggard’s songs still play through my mind every so often - “Okie from Muskogee” (1969) and “Are the Good Times Really Over?” (1981), which amazingly captured the views of working-class American families during those economic and culturally challenging times. The latter song is essentially - newly - relevant today, largely given the Biden Malaise.
Jason Aldean is one of the leading country musicians today and a worthy heir and successor to these and many other county music legends. He’s scored so many awards it’s hard to keep up. He’s clearly in his prime. And he’s cancel culture’s latest attack, with Country Music Television taking his latest hit song out of its rotation and Aldean taking scathing attacks.
First, let’s get familiar with both the song and the lyrics. The facts are usually a good place to begin long before you read the opinions of others. Watch it before Google-owned YouTube takes it down.
Now, the lyrics.
[Verse 1]
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 like
Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you're tough
[Chorus]
Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
'Round 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
[Verse 2]
Got a gun that my granddad gave me
They say one day they're gonna round up
Well, that shit might fly in the city, good luck
[Chorus]
Try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
'Round 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
[Bridge]
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 town
[Chorus]
Try that in a small town
(See how far ya make it down the road)
'Round 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
Try that in a small town, mm-mm
[Outro]
Try that in a small town
Here’s Aldean on his Twitter account, discussing the song.
The reference to Route 91 was the Mandalay Bay mass shooting in Las Vegas about a decade ago. And as usual, cretins on The Left are using the song to stoke racial tensions, not Aldean. The Left never misses an opportunity to advance racial hatred, victimization, and cancel culture. While many reasonable “center-left” Americans are still around, I’ve concluded the “progressive left” is genuinely evil and must be defeated. They cannot be reasoned with, are inherently intolerant, and seek both my demise and my country’s destruction.
I’m tempted to engage in a little “whataboutism” involving scores of violent rap songs - gangsta rap - that can be found easily on YouTube and music apps everywhere. They, too, reflect the events and “values” of that culture, and those musicians seem more celebrated than canceled. Here are a few examples if you’re unfamiliar with them - I won’t be posting their stuff on this family-friendly. My point is that the cretins criticizing Aldean are silent and sometimes complimentary of violent rap music that is racist, misogynistic, and graphically violent. They promote it and demand you respect, honor, and celebrate it.
Nope.
What concerns me is not that Aldean and his music are under attack. He’s a big boy and competent, with his scores of loyal fans, of taking care of himself. But as for me, I’ll be responding to an entirely reasonable song facing unreasonable and false attacks to promote and support Aldean and, specifically, this song. I am more troubled that CMT took down the song from their rotation. I knew cancel culture had infected everything, as is evident from other country musicians, and I should not be surprised. Yet, I am—shame on me.
As a homegrown small-town American, Aldean’s song profoundly resonates with me. It should resonate with you. I’m following his YouTube channel and Twitter feed and now downloading his music. I may even try attending his Iowa State Fair concert next month. (update: I have tickets).
Last word. Some GOP candidates, such as long-shot presidential candidate and former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, promise not to fight a “culture war.” Easy for someone living in North Dakota to say. The cultural war is here, like it or not. If you don’t fight it, you will be forced to surrender: mandatory, taxpayer-subsidized minor transgender surgeries, bakers and wedding planners forced to bend the knee, and worse. Compromise isn’t a word in these people’s vocabulary. They demand compliance. These are bad people.
These people can’t and don’t want to be reasoned with. We, civilized and tolerant Americans, regardless of our political leanings, must defeat them.
Civility has its role, but it also has its limits. That time has passed with the progressive left. I’m done pussy-footing with them.