“Tell people there’s an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure.”
George Carlin
The immense irony of growing up in Northwest Georgia is the collective amnesia that pervades its residents. Appalachia has historically been a bastion in the fight for workers rights and individual liberty. Largely composed of Irish, Scottish, and German immigrants, the area gave rise to moonshine, music, unions, and art that came from its unique landscape and heterogenous population. The most egregious example of this cultural amnesia that currently comes to mind is the motorsport of NASCAR.
Founded in 1948 by Bill France Sr., NASCAR draws its inspiration from moonshiners, who would modify cars in order to easily escape law enforcement, who were seeking to tax their operations. With such an anti-taxation, anti-police origin, one would think that NASCAR’s fans would still hold to the ideals that created the sport that millions of people enjoy every year.
Sadly, NASCAR has diverged from its roots and become a display of hyper-nationalism that would likely disgust the people who inspired its very creation. This divergence is indicative of a larger cultural shift, where politicians have used deceptive arguments to convince their constituents that the “other side” not only disagrees with them, but is actively seeking to cause them harm. Evidence of this campaign has reached all facets of life, from religion, to music, to movies.
Many people today would immediately identify country music with conservative ideals, however this isn’t completely true when looking at the genre as a whole. Many artists have historically supported an entire spectrum of politics, and in my opinion, it wasn’t until the late 90’s and early 2000’s that the idea of ultra-conservative, pro-war country music entered the public’s perception.
I grew up during this shift, witnessed it, and became a victim of it. Suddenly “back the blue” stickers adorned the backs of pickup trucks, confederate flags went from something one would see on occasion to front page news due to conservatives becoming convinced that people asking not to see the symbol of slave owners was an “attack on their heritage”, and red hats adorned with the tagline of a billionaire who has become what could be likened to a cult leader.
Where once the American Dream included not being forced to pay taxes when selling homemade alcohol and unionizing against rich business owners when they attempted to exploit cheap labor, it has now been mutated into an unrecognizable concept of hyper-nationalism, worship of the ruling socioeconomic class, and unrelenting attacks against minority communities who are not only seen as “unamerican” for wanting fair treatment, but vilified through politicians shifting blame from themselves for economic suffering felt by the entire community.
