Lesson of ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Brouhaha: Don’t Capitulate to Left’s Cancel Culture

This time their target is Jason Aldean, a country music singer who dared not only to release a song in praise of small towns, but had the temerity to highlight the dysfunction and criminality now rampant in many of America’s big cities.

Here are some of the allegedly hateful lyrics of his new song, “Try That in a Small Town”:
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.

So, he’s saying violent crimes are bad. Imagine that. The horror.

After a few lines about people spitting on cops and burning flags, the song continues:

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
Try that in a small town.

Aldean is clearly referencing the uptick in crime and lawlessness that we have seen in the past few years.

It’s been primarily an urban problem in cities controlled by left-wing ideologues. Our nation’s capital—a city almost entirely controlled by Democrats—has become shamefully dangerous, with carjackings and other crimes surging.

The song’s music video features clips of crime, the Black Lives Matter riots, and a flag burning. And here you have the reason why Aldean must now be institutionally scrubbed from existence.

Thou shalt never question or mock the narratives that our new cultural elites wish to tell you about the world. The BLM riots were “mostly peaceful,” you see, and entirely justified. Rising crime in big cities is just right-wing fiction, and even if it exists, it is the consequence of structural racism.

If you question these ideas, you are labeled a “racist” and ripe for being “unpersoned.”

For his crimes against those narratives, Aldean’s song has been labeled “pro-lynching”—yes, really—and Country Music Television pulled the song off the air.

Rep. Justin Jones, D-Tenn., one of the fanatical legislators who was briefly expelled from the Tennessee Legislature for engaging in a takeover of the Capitol alongside gun control protesters, called “Try That in a Small Town” a “heinous song calling for racist violence.”

I am literally rolling my eyes as I write this.

Just go on any music playlist app right now and see how many of the top songs promote violence, misogyny, and criminality.

As soon as a song is released in effect saying, “Don’t try being a criminal in my town,” that’s the one that apparently needs to be erased?

“In the past 24 hours, I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests,” Aldean tweeted in response on Tuesday. “These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.”

He added that the song “refers to the feeling of a community that I had growing up, where we took care of our neighbors, regardless of differences of background or belief.”

Aldean didn’t apologize or back down, and that’s key.

Those looking to destroy Aldean and erase his song don’t care about violence. I’m guessing they don’t even listen to country music.

What they care about is political and cultural power, and the ability to shape—through public and private institutions—the moral and ethical framework of our society. That’s why they are pushing institutions to denounce the country music star and cleanse his music from popular spaces.

But an interesting thing is happening in our society. As our elite institutions embrace left-wing ideology as their predominant ethos, Americans en masse are in the process of abandoning them. You could ask Bud Light.

Trust in institutions has entirely collapsed, in part because they are now seen as being ideologically captured.

The sales for Aldean’s new song have exploded. It recently reached the No. 1 spot on iTunes. Americans have rushed to support him as our elites attempt to tear him down.

Hopefully, Aldean won’t waver and won’t cave. If he does, his detractors will happily accept the gift of his apology, announce how it confirms his guilt and the guilt of our society in general, and will insist that he either becomes an active devotee of their cause or they will punish him further.

As we’ve seen with the incredible ticket sales of the film “Sound of Freedom” and the collapse of Bud Light after it insulted its customers by making transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney a spokesman, Americans with traditional values still have a great deal of power—if they wield it.

Nothing will ever be gained by conceding to the cultural Jacobins who have become the institutional gatekeepers of our society.

And when a man stands against the mob, we need to make sure great and powerful forces will come to his aid.

“Try that in a small town” should be the new “come and take it” response to attempts at cancellation by our noxious cultural elites.

This commentary written by Jarrett Stepman, a columnist for The Daily Signal. This was originally published on The Daily Signal (www.dailysignal.com).