The country singer Jason Aldean has a No. 1 hit in his “Try That in a Small Town.” It’s made news because the Country Music Channel won’t play the video because of its threatening nature. Aldean is a Trump fan, so the controversy has brought out predictable Right-vs.-Left defenses and condemnations. But it’s not that simple. It’s an opportunity to look at 1985 vs. 2023 and take some lessons from the relatively recent past.
In 1985, John Mellencamp sang about small towns: “Educated in a small town, / Taught to fear of Jesus in a small town, / Used to daydream in that small town, / Another boring romantic, that’s me.” He sang about friendship and family and marriage — about roots. These are treasures, and all the people who are suffering under what had been called a pandemic of loneliness need to be introduced to as many good things as possible in their lives. Too many people today think these things are unattainable and don’t even know how to be a hopeless romantic — and it’s killing them.
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