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I got turned
onto Bruce
Springsteen the
summer before my
junior year in
college.
It was 1984. Born
in the USA
had come out on
June 4th.
And my friends
and I were on a
10-day road trip
to Florida
before school
started back up
in the fall.
My
friend Mike was
a Bruce
fanatic. He had
every album,
bought every
cassette, and,
with the release
of Born in
the USA,
bought the CD as
well. It took
about 19 hours
each way to
drive from our
homes in
Youngstown,
Ohio, to where
we were going in
Naples,
Florida. We
must have
listened to
Bruce for half
of that time.
By the time we
got home, my
other friends
were sick of
it. I, on the
other hand, like
my friend Mike,
was hooked.
In
the years since,
I never became a
Bruce fanatic;
I’ve only seen
him in concert
once, and I only
own a few of his
CDs. But I
remain a fan.
And when I hear
his music –
mainly his older
stuff, and
primarily the
songs that won
me over to begin
with from
Born in the USA
– I rarely turn
it off and
nearly always
turn it up. I
like his songs
for their rhythm
and their beat.
But more than
anything, I like
them for their
words. Probably
more any other
songwriter,
Bruce
Springsteen
tells stories I
can relate to.
Stories that
remind me of
growing up in
Youngstown; of
steel mills and
high school
dreams and
trying to
overcome all of
life’s
challenges that
stand in your
way. In short,
his songs
inspire me.
In
fact, his songs
inspire me much
the same way
that Ronald
Reagan inspired
me when he ran
for President in
1979. He spoke
in a language
that I had never
heard a
politician speak
before. I was
15 at the time;
all I knew was
Jimmy Carter;
all I knew about
were hostages
and malaise.
Ronald Reagan
came along and
he spoke of
hope. He spoke
of faith. He
spoke of making
our country
great again. I
became a
Republican the
day he was
inaugurated.
And I remain a
Republican to
this day.
Which brings me
to the point of
this column, and
brings me to the
conflict that I,
and I suspect
many other
Republicans,
feel – mainly,
how can you be a
Republican and
still like the
Boss? After
all, here is a
man who actively
campaigned for
John Kerry in
2004, and has
been sharply
critical of
President Bush,
as recently as
this past
spring. Bruce
even snubbed
Ronald Reagan
during the
campaign of
1984. How can
you – or anyone
who has worked
for and
supported the
Republican Party
for the last
quarter century
-- be a fan of
someone who has
worked for and
contributed to
that same
party’s defeat?
The
late conductor
George Szell
once said that,
“In music one
must think with
the heart and
feel with the
brain.” In
politics, just
the opposite is
true -- which is
why, for many
Republicans,
being a fan of
Bruce
Springsteen
means drawing a
line between the
intellectual
reasoning and
philosophy that
has driven us to
the GOP and the
passion and
inspiration his
music makes us
feel in our
gut. It means
saying you were
“heartbroken,”
by Bruce’s
decision to
campaign for
Kerry – as
Republican
Governor Tim
Pawlenty of
Minnesota did on
his radio show
before the
election – but
still being able
to say you are a
fan of the Boss
(as Governor
Pawlenty says on
his official
website today.)
In short, it
means being able
to separate your
heart and your
head.
Truth be told,
Bruce
Springsteen does
make me cringe
at times. And
he sometimes
makes me mad.
No doubt, this
is and will
continue to be
true for many
other
Republicans, as
well. But he
sure can sing,
and, more
importantly, he
sure knows how
to tell a
story.
Regardless of
one’s political
affiliation,
it’s easy to be
inspired by
that.
RF
Louis M.
Zickar is the
Editor of the
Ripon Forum. |
