It’s six o’clock and the sun is setting in Tullahoma, Tenn. Headlights hit the window of my bedroom as my mother’s boyfriend, James, pulls his Pontiac GT into the driveway after a long day’s work at a car dealership.
He enters the double-wide trailer he bought, having paid it off month by month. He grabs a Budweiser from the fridge, playfully sticks his tongue out at me and my siblings and walks into his room, sits in his recliner and relaxes. That happened every night like clockwork.
Sometimes I would find his mechanic’s button-down, short-sleeve work shirt on the living room couch. The shirt would smell like oil, and I could feel the grease on it when I put it on.
He and I never had the best relationship, but when I thought back to his that work shirt, I always felt thankful that every day he put on it meant I had a roof over my head.
Years and years later, I’m in a coffee shop in the rich suburb of East Nashville with my partner, LilyFish. A man at the table in front of me was wearing a mechanic shirt, the same as James would wear. Only this man’s shirt was clean and stain-free, finely pressed and didn’t smell of oil. He wore chinos and Ray Ban sunglasses. This was just an outfit to him.
I chuckled in amazement of how disconnected Americans can be from one another. It’s galling to see a man sporting a blue-collar work shirt as a fashion statement. I knew what that shirt meant to James and to my family.
Working class isn’t trendy
My work shirt recollections have been top of mind lately, as I have struggled with the popularity of country singer Oliver Anthony’s hit single, “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
The song struck a nerve in many people currently struggling to pay the bills. Inflation, stagnant wages, housing costs, student debt and/or some other form of financial pressure are wreaking havoc on families.
This country is long overdue for a change in how we support the lower middle class and those at or below the poverty line.
As someone who experienced homelessness and poverty, I can’t help but think that Anthony’s song is a disingenuous bundle of trigger words.
Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eat
And the obese milkin’ welfare
Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds
People who qualify Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, are not “milkin’ welfare.” They are poor, struggling families.
The language in Anthony’s song is careless. His good intentions don’t outweigh the harm caused by using words that stereotype the millions of Americans working hard to provide for their families.
Complacency of the middle
In a video posted to YouTube on Aug. 25, Anthony addressed his hit song and the social moment it’s created.
“The one thing that has bothered me is seeing people wrap politics up in this,” Anthony said. “It’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me like I’m one of them.”
Anthony presents himself and his music as nonpolitical or in the middle, and perhaps that has been the reason for his success. A lot of Americans don’t subscribe to mainstream partisan politics, whether that’s because they don’t trust it or believe the system doesn’t work in their favor.
“Many of us aren’t right or left, we are just tired of the way this world is today. Thank you for sharing your music with us, brother,” a YouTuber wrote on Anthony’s video.
This is a problem with the apolitical segment of our country. Many people believe that not picking a side means they’re not in politics. Well, newsflash, everything that is created or built to help our society function is built on politics. Did you miss the part in the “Hamilton” musical where the Founders were politicking to create this little thing called the Constitution?
This isn’t to say you have to be firmly planted on one side (or the other), but you should be aware of the issues affecting you — locally and nationally. For those folks struggling to make ends meet, do you know that you can help start a union and work toward higher pay for employees on the lower end of the wage scale?
We, the people, employ our elected leaders with our votes. You think they don’t care about you? Let your voice be heard and vote to get someone else in the seat who does.
Will the same people who were moved by the sentiment of the “Rich Men” song also be motivated to vote in next year’s elections?
Those who decide to stay in the middle or reject politics do this country a disservice.
It should be our duty as Americans to be comfortable diving into the political fray.
We’ll still be friends after.