Country music and politics


To understand "flyover country," listen to their music. You might learn something
There is a great article at The Economist concerning the politics of Middle America and country music.

Anthropologists studying obscure tribes in Peru or Papua New Guinea often mine their folk songs for clues as to how they think and what they believe. In the same way anyone who wants to understand the world's most politically influential tribe—the people of Middle America, who pick most American presidents—should pay attention to country music.

The article meanders a bit but still makes some great points.

One wholly unintentional, but still got my attention. Emphasis added.

Do country singers favour alcohol because Jesus drank (or at least turned water into wine) but never snorted coke? More likely it is because their fans prefer a fridge full of beer to a bag of white powder. With a Bud, you know exactly how much each gulp will intoxicate you (not much, if it's Bud Light). So you can let yourself go on Saturday night without much risk that you'll wind up in hospital and unable to drive the kids to school on Monday morning. Country folk are sensible, mostly.

Bam! Indictment of the Drug War in an article about country music. Beer is a reliable product because it is sold in the free market. With street cocaine, you don't know how pure it is or what it might have been cut with. So overdoses and bad reactions are pretty much a given.

Anyway, the article is pretty good. And I have to say, some country music is pretty good too. I defy anyone to sit through Johnny Cash's version of Hurt and not be moved by that wonderful lived-hard voice. I am still a sucker for John Denver's Rocky Mountain High. I don't like the "she done me wrong" songs and I may start running at the mere thought of the Grand Ole Opry, but country music has heart. You can't say that about the plastic "artists" and eye candy that we are supposed to take seriously.

You want to understand someone, pay attention to their music and art. Find out where their heart lives.

Hat tip Maynard at TammyBruce.com

— NeoWayland

Posted: Wed - January 3, 2007 at 05:18 PM  Tag


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