Country music is a genre unique to the American culture.

Up until recent times it is has served as an extraordinarily enduring American soundtrack, one that both musically and lyrically has been able to capture the spirit that lives in the down-home heart.

The blend of folk, gospel, and blues first sprouted in small southern and western towns. It soon came into full artistic bloom, not only reflecting a kind of blue-collar melodic score but also mirroring beliefs, attitudes, and values of working class society.

Music is one of the other-worldly aspects of human nature. And so it is that an essential component of any great musical composition is truth.

As in every other artistic field, country music artists have historically used their talents to share thoughts and opinions via the distinct language of the heartland.

Unfortunately, today’s country music scene is vastly different from years past. I know because I have lived it, not in cowboy hat-style but in a folk, gospel, and blues artist way.

Jason Aldean is a superstar country music singer, with 27 number one hits and several top-selling albums. He recently released a song that threw him smack in the middle of the cancel-culture battle.

Aldean’s recent single “Try That In a Small Town” came out in May 2023, but went with little mention in the non-music press.

Then in July the music video was released. That’s when the artist as well as the song came under heavy mainstream media and social media attack.

In a Twitter post accompanying the video, Aldean indicated that the song represented an “unspoken rule” that is embraced by residents of small towns.

“We all have each other’s backs and we look out for each other,” he said.

This sentiment is conveyed in the song’s plain-spoken lyrics:

“Well, try that in a small town

See how far you 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.”

It appears that Aldean’s detractors may have been lying in wait to pounce on him. His wife and sister had launched a clothing line with conservative threads, and he himself had been photographed playing golf with none other than USA’s 45^th president.

The video includes footage from the Summer of 2020, where flags were burned, cars were smashed, businesses were vandalized, police were abused, etc.

The left responded in what has become routine fashion, slapping a bigoted label on the art and the artist.

The tragic incidents of 2020 and the brutal crimes that continue to ravage major cities have been minimized and/or completely ignored by dominant left-leaning media outlets.

Aldean’s artistic inclusion of depictions of events seems to have really hit a nerve. It has elicited what is clearly an over-the-top response from the left.

— Democrat Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones characterized the tune as a “heinous song calling for racist violence.”

— Some of Aldean’s peers have piled on, including former pop singer-turned-country music artist Sheryl Crow.

— Country Music Television (CMT), the cable TV channel that once upon a time was dedicated to country music, pulled the “Try That In a Small Town” video after bots on social media lobbed racist remarks. As a result, countless country fans are now giving CMT the Bud Light treatment.

— Nashville’s E3 Chophouse has banished CMT from its TV sets. The restaurant happens to be owned by the families of country singer Luke Bryan, former baseball player Adam LaRoche, and Aldean himself.

“We will not air CMT at any of our restaurants until a formal apology is made and Jason’s music video is reinstated,” the restaurant’s Twitter account stated.

Aldean used his personal Twitter account to push back against the unfair accusations.

“There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it,” he wrote. “Try That In A Small Town, for me, 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.”

Country music star Travis Tritt is defending his colleague, expressing his respect and admiration for “Try That In A Small Town.”

“IMO, this song isn’t promoting violence as some have suggested. It is simply 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’ in this country in recent years and the belief shared by millions that this behavior would not be tolerated by many people in many places across the USA. God bless America and all the people in it,” Tritt wrote.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard offered some spirited support, tweeting, “The outrage around @Jason_Aldean ‘Try That in a Small Town’ is the latest round fired in the ‘woke’ war against freedom. Their attacks reveal the Democrat elite’s true values – violent looters during BLM protests can run free, but a song about respecting the flag & taking care of your neighbors is heresy and must be cancelled.”

The American people are speaking the loudest of all. “Try That in a Small Town” is No. 1 on iTunes.

Aldean performed the song at a recent concert in Cincinnati. In his intro, he directly took on his adversaries, saying, “I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to — that doesn’t mean it’s true, right?”

“What I am is a proud American,” he continued. “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 bull**** started happening to it.”

Aldean’s small town is proving to be mighty big in a lot more ways than one.

The “USA! USA!” chants from the concert crowd were more than just a show of support for the country music artist.

They were a great big “Thank You!” to Jason Aldean from down-home hearts across America and around the globe.