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Singer songwriter Oliver Anthony experienced tribalism from both sides of the political spectrum after his song "Rich Men North of Richmond" became a right-wing media sensation.
Anthony wasn't well known before his populist ballad "Rich Men North of Richmond" became a hit. One YouTube video of the song posted August 8 currently has close to 49 million views and the song debuted at No. 1 on Billboards Hot 100 songs.
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The chorus includes,
These rich men north of Richmond
Lord knows they all just wanna have total control
Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do
And they don’t think you know, but I know that you do
‘Cause your dollar ain’t shit and it’s taxed to no end
‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond
It's easy to see who the song is about. A two-hour drive north of Richmond on I-95 would put you in Washington, DC. (Perhaps longer given the nightmare traffic in that area.) There are active left-wing and right-wing populist movements in American politics today and there are elements of both in the lyrics.
Given that the MAGA-right often presents itself as the voice of the working class, it's easy to see why they would imagine Anthony to be part of their tribe. But after Fox News used a clip of the song to ask the first question at the first Republican presidential debate, Anthony put the kibosh on the notion he's a right-wing hero.
"It's aggravating to see people on conservative news try to identify with me, like I'm one of them. It's aggravating seeing certain musicians and politicians act like we're buddies and act like we're fighting the same struggle here, like we're trying to present the same message," Anthony said in a video posted Friday to YouTube.
"It was funny seeing my song at the presidential debate, because I wrote that song about those people," he later added about the Republican presidential candidates at the debate.
Of course, many on the left took delight in this turn of events, highlighting the quotes above. But Anthony had also had a response to reactions he had previously received from the left.
"I see the right trying to characterize me as one of their own and I see the left trying to discredit me, I guess in retaliation. That shit's gotta stop," Anthony said before explaining why he thinks many on the left misunderstood his lyrics.
I don't know if "retaliation" is the right way to put it. But I suspect most of the left-wing negative reactions to the song was due to tribalism. When we're driven by tribalism, sometimes called negative partisanship or hyper-polarization, our views are determined more by who we're against than what we're for.
Imagine experiencing what Anthony experienced — getting attacked by Tribe A simply because Tribe B praised you, even though you don't identify with either tribe. His frustration is understandable. Let’s use this episode to remind ourselves to avoid tribal thinking.
I trust that Anthony is being genuine about his feelings for one simple reason — he could've easily cashed in on his right-wing fame by becoming a fixture on the right-wing conference and media circuit, as so many others have done, but he chose not to. Given the lack of self-awareness in politics these days, I imagine he could've even opened for the most famous rich man from north of Richmond — Donald Trump.
You can watch the whole video here:
What Else We're Reading
Racist Jacksonville shooter wore Rhodesian army patch, a symbol of white supremacy, law enforcement sources say [ [link removed] ]
The white gunman who killed three Black people at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, Florida, over the weekend wore a Rhodesian army patch on his tactical vest, law enforcement sources say, a reference that has been used before during white supremacist attacks.
The patch — representing Rhodesia, a former white minority-ruled territory in southern Africa in the 1960s and ’70s that would become Zimbabwe — is yet another symbol of how the shooter, Ryan Palmeter, was racist and was influenced by racist ideology, investigators say.
Political Christianity Has Claws [ [link removed] ]
Threats, intimidation and violence aren’t exclusive to the right, of course. But there is something particularly painful and puzzling when such expressions of hatred come from people who claim to follow Jesus, the prince of peace. What is happening?
Simply put, America is increasingly beset by a version of cultural and political Christianity that bears little resemblance to the faith as described in the Bible. It seems as if there’s an almost mathematical equation at work — when you combine theology and ideology but subtract virtue, you’ve created a formula for viciousness and strife. Raise the stakes to an existential or eternal level, remove the restraints of kindness and self-control, and watch the worst of humanity emerge.
The Book Banners on the Left: A major report warns that progressive activism is contributing to a chilly climate in publishing. [ [link removed] ]
How does the climate of conformity and intimidation documented by Booklash compare to censorship campaigns from the right? Which constitutes a greater threat to free expression? That depends on one’s perspective. From a strict First Amendment standpoint, actions by governors and legislators raise a red flag that pressures from activists and private-sector decisions do not. Yet if the question is the practical effect on a book’s availability, a book’s withdrawal—or even the hard-to-quantify pressure on publishers not to pick up certain books—should be far more troubling than a book’s removal from a school library, let alone its transfer to a section for older kids.
The Biggest Threat to Conservatism? The New Right. [ [link removed] ]
Why would those on the New Right intentionally mislead people about the reasons why conservatism “failed?”
The short answer is that they want a big government of their own. Some even want to use “progressive” means to achieve conservative ends. They are jettisoning the traditions of limited government and economic freedom because they are no longer really conservatives in the American sense, but nationalists and statists dedicated to creating an alternative style of big government to achieve culturally conservative ends. They favor empowering and using government to ban socially liberal practices, rewarding supporters with federal aid and programs, punishing private individuals and companies with punitive legal and federal action, restricting free speech and expression with which they disagree, and supporting industrial and trade policies that increase the reach of federal power over the economy.
Will using rhetoric against capitalism that echoes Karl Marx create a winning formula? Will bemoaning “market fundamentalism” and supporting industrial and other economic policies that Elizabeth Warren favors create a conservative majority? Will embracing an anti-American foreign policy that sounds very much like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Ilhan Omar bring about a conservative renaissance?
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