(LifeSiteNews) — Country music star and outspoken conservative Jason Aldean has been attacked by the liberal media for calling out the violence of Antifa and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in a new music video.
On July 14, Aldean’s team released a visual to accompany a song he wrote in May titled “Try That in a Small Town.” The video was quickly removed by Country Music Television (CMT) after a gun control activist stirred up rumors that the visual endorsed gun violence and lynching.
The song addresses certain crimes and violence that frequent headlines across the United States with lines such as “sucker punch somebody on a sidewalk,” “car jack 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” and “stomp on the flag and light it up.” In the music video, Aldean’s words match news footage of the crimes he describes, which are staples among BLM and Antifa activists.
As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, Antifa members have a history of violent protests of pro-life events and, earlier this month, two activists were charged for using explosives to protest a debate featuring Catholic commentator Michael Knowles. Similarly, BLM protesters have ramped up their violent approach since the death of George Floyd, leading to several weeks of rampant crime and injury across the nation in 2020.
After bluntly describing the state of the union, the song’s refrain continues:
“Ya think you’re tough, 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 to find out
I recommend you don’t try that in a small town”
The second verse mentions “a gun that my granddad gave me” and warns anyone tempted to engage in such violence not to do so “in a small town full of good ol’ boys raised up right.” Critics have accused Aldean of promoting gun violence even after a tragic mass shooting that took place in 2017 during one of his concerts in Las Vegas.
The Maury County Courthouse in Tennessee is featured as a backdrop in the video with an American flag flying, causing fury among leftists who emphasized that the Columbia Race Riots took place there in the 1940s and cited reports of a lynching at the same spot in 1927.
Leading the controversy is gun control activist and founder of Moms Demand Action Shannon Watts. On July 16, she posted on Twitter the lyrics of the song, describing it as being “about how he [Aldean] and his friends will shoot you if you try to take their guns.”
Watts later said that she was “proud to have had a hand in getting CMT to reject this racist and violent song.” Her initial derogatory comments came after Aldean wrote about the “unspoken rule” in small-town America that citizens take care of each other.
“It feels like somewhere along the way, that sense of community and respect has gotten lost,” he said alongside a link to the new video. “Deep down, we are all ready to get back to that.”
Following the backlash — during which “Try That in a Small Town” reached number two across all genres on the Hot 100 Billboard chart and number one on iTunes — Aldean described accusations against him as “dangerous.”
“There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it — and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage — and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music, this one goes too far.”
The musician continued to say that “NO ONE, including me, wants to continue to see senseless headlines or families ripped apart.” He added that “my political views have never been something I’ve hidden from, and I know that a lot of us in this country don’t agree on how we get back to a sense of normalcy where we go at least a day without a headline that keeps us up at night. But the desire for it to — that’s what this song is about.”
During a concert in Cincinnati on Friday night, Aldean told the crowd that “cancel culture is a thing … if people don’t like what you say, they try and make sure that they can cancel you.”
“I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion,” he continued. “You can think something all you want to; it doesn’t mean it’s true. What I am is a proud American, I’m proud to be from here.”
“I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bulls*** started happening to us. I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now.”
Conservatives voice support for Aldean amid backlash
While left-wing activists and media outlets continuously bash “Try That in a Small Town,” prominent Republican leaders and conservative figures have taken time to voice support for Aldean.
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy commended the pro-American themes in the song and called out its critics for “the glorification of sex and violence in hip-hop.” He also promised to “do our part & play it at our rallies.” Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis also chimed in, saying that Aldean “has nothing to apologize for.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem thanked the musician for the song and praised him and his wife for “being patriots.” Conservative country artist Travis Tritt pointed out that the song is “expressing a point of view that many American people share, which is against the obvious violence that we have seen from the likes of so many ‘activists groups.’” Daily Wire commentators Matt Walsh, Ben Shapiro and Michael Knowles also defended Aldean and his views.
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