Dear Mr. Anthony,
I am happy you have such a popular song and that you have spoken out about both the right and the left weaponizing it. That is the problem with art. People see what they want to see in it. But your song does play into the alt-rights playbook because it is so full of falsehoods and misdirections. Here are a few that I noticed.
‘Cause your dollar ain’t shit and it’s taxed to no end
‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond
Of the ten states that receive the least amount of money from federal taxes, eight of them are blue states. Of the ten states that receive the most from the federal government, seven of them are red states. Isn’t it clear that red states get more tax money from the federal government, so why are you complaining about taxes? The top eight get around thirty percent more than they put in. If I got twenty or thirty percent on my investment, I’d be very happy.
I’ve been sellin’ my soul, workin’ all day
Overtime hours for bullshit pay
So I can sit out here and waste my life away
Drag back home and drown my troubles away
You worked for a papermill that was not owned by the federal government. I think you must look at the owners of the mill to blame someone for the low wages you received. There are people in Washington who want to raise the minimum wage, but there are others who feel that would be bad for business. I think you could figure out which political party wants what.
Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do
And they don’t think you know, but I know that you do
Sorry, Mr. Anthony, you gave up all your privacy willingly when you bought your new smartphone. It tracks everywhere you go, everywhere you look, everything you buy. It can listen in on all your conversations, and video everything you do. Those rich men from North of Richmond have cell phones too!
When those damn liberals in Washington want more regulations on businesses, it is to protect the most vulnerable. The people who want to stop regulation are those millionaires you are singing about. Throw away your cell phone and they will get a lot less information on you. But that isn’t convenient, is it?
I wish politicians would look out for miners
And not just minors on an island somewhere
I love it when powerful companies act like they are the victims and get the rest of us to buy into that nonsense. Need I remind you that when coal mining companies came to town, they threw many people off of the land their families farmed for generations, paid workers in fake money keeping them impoverished, and just hired others when their workers got respiratory diseases? Miners at the turn of the twentieth century lived “like sheep in shambles.” Unions helped the workers, but you probably dislike them as well.
There are significant environmental impacts associated with coal mining. It could require the removal of massive amounts of topsoil, leading to erosion, loss of habitat, and pollution. Coal mining causes acid mine drainage, which causes heavy metals to dissolve and seep into ground and surface water.
So rich companies move into an area, throw people out of their homes, enslave others, and destroy the environment, and that is who you feel the need to protect. If I had to choose between mining companies and minors, I would choose minors every time.
Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eat
And the obese milkin’ welfare
For a while, I worked for the state of Maine, giving food stamps to needy families. It was generally acknowledged that about five percent of the recipients were scamming the system. But would you, Mr. Anthony, deny help to ninety-five honest Americans who need to get over a rough patch, because there are five people taking advantage of the system? You prayed to the Lord, what would Jesus do on that one?
All politics is local. You are affected more by the businesses and government in your state than those rich men north of Richmond. I am sorry that people have weaponized your song, but the nonsense you are singing about pours gasoline on the fire without offering any solutions. We all know there are things wrong with this country. Your song does nothing to help resolve the situation. The political parties want to divide us. They stay in power by pointing their fingers at each other and getting us to buy into their lies. Unfortunately, you are doing a lot of finger-pointing as well.
oxrider 