Try That in a Small Town
This ink-stained wretch is clueless concerning any sort of celebrity culture. Jason Aldean is – apparently – a country music singer who is well known, but not to us. That’s not a criticism – he does his thing and we do ours. We've only heard of him in the past week or so.
Jason Aldean has provoked a negative response to a song he recorded, “Try That in a Small Town.” Wait – People responded to it, but he didn’t provoke anything. He used his First Amendment rights to say – in music, in verse – what he thought.
The First Amendment is invoked and avoided at the whim of the citizen, depending on the political and social beliefs that they have already formed. But lest we forget:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
Now, “Congress shall make no laws . . .” applies to the States under the Fourteenth Amendment. Maybe it should apply to citizens, but that would inhibit THEIR First Amendment rights. This constitutional republic has very inconvenient laws concerning what citizens do. (Thank God.)
So if someone says that Aldean’s music is violent, racist (based on where it was filmed which was the scene of a racist scene 75 years ago, go figure), or . . . Oh, pick something negative – That is protected speech. In my judgment, it is stupid speech, but in some people’s opinion, this post is stupid speech. Welcome to the First Amendment!
The much-maligned Aldean lyrics include:
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
Well,
try 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.
Let’s first talk about small towns and rural areas. The Pew Research Center is as near to a nonpartisan, nonaligned statistical source as you are likely to encounter worldwide. They published a survey showing where the US population iives, divided between rural and small towns and urban and large suburban people:
So, depending on the accuracy of the Pew study (which I accept), 44% of people live in small towns and rural areas. That 44% deserves to be heard, just like any other citizen. We are part of that – We live in Ohio County, West Virginia, in what is to most people a small town. It’s part of the Pittsburgh, PA, statistical area, but is 60 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. Ohio County is a progressive place, as measured by the whole of West Virginia, Pennsylvannia and Ohio, but it’s still a small town.
The lyrics:
Sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk; Carjack an old lady at a red light; Pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store; Cuss out a cop, spit in his face; Stomp on the flag and light it up.
You do any of that, that’s illegal -- except lighting up the
flag which is First Amendment speech in action. (If somebody does that, they are still a flaming
jerk but they have a right to do it no matter what I think.)
As to the others –
sucker punch somebody, carjack an old lady, pull a gun to rob a liquor store
and even spit on a police officer – that’s illegal and invites a response by a
citizen who sees it. (Mind you, spitting
on a police officer has it’s own reward, and seldom will a citizen (1) need to
get involved or (2) care what happens to the miscreant if it’s less than
serious injury.) But the others –
carjacking, punching someone or robbery – invites a justified citizen
response. If the miscreant is armed or
presents a serious threat to life, it invites a lethal citizen response. Lethal responses are not limited to
firearms. The papers are full of
citizens who have stopped – and killed – people without a firearm.
“Try that in a small town” – That reflects
the real possibility that if you are in a small town or a rural area, the
citizens are more likely to respond to the stimulus. In a small town or a rural area, people are
used to delayed police response and have reason to take action on their
own. So – the “try that in a small town”
is valid. If you try to that stuff in a
small town or rural area, you are more likely to encounter fierce citizen resistance.
Is that bad? Is it bad to intervene in a crime which presents danger to another? That is a personal decision – but we don’t want to live in such a pusillanimous place. There is something to be said for looking in the mirror in the morning and know that you have done your best. If you have ever stopped someone using appropriate force to interrupt them from hurting others, you know in your heart that you have done your best.
Aldean has also been criticize for invoking firearms:
They say one day they're gonna
round up
Well, that shit might fly in the
city, good luck
Some people sincerely wish that everyone should give up their weapons if the government requires them to. That is their First Amendment right. It does not reflect the belief of many people, certainly not among the rural and small town citizens. When bad things happen, seconds count. The police are only minutes away. They see firearms as the founders did – a defensive device. Like it or not, that is how small town dwellers think and it is reflected in reality. What will happen in the future and how will rural and small town people respond? We don’t know. We can’t know until it happens. I do know that if statutes are passed relating to weapon’s possession, a whole lot of firearms are going to be reported as stolen, lost, destroyed and so forth. Illegal? Sure. Just like marijuana. How did that work out?
Facing reality is a tough
duty. Are we up to it?
