Having grown up in two small Kansas towns, I guess I should be distraught and maybe remorseful.

Why?

Because when an award-winning Country-Western singer writes a song about life and values in America’s ubiquitous small towns and is immediately attacked and canceled, he must have done something wrong, right?

Wrong!

Actually, all Jason Aldean did was release a hit song in May entitled: “Try That in a Small Town,” which defends the principles and beliefs most Americans once shared — faith, family, hard work, independence, and patriotism.

The music video that accompanies the song focuses on the rampant crime infesting America’s mostly Democrat-run big cities. Images of burning buildings, car-jacking, smash & grab theft, mugging, looting, and rioting accompany the music and lyrics.

Then Aldean sings: “Try That in a Small Town”—implying, rightly so, that small-town America would not put up with the chaos and crime in America’s big cities that are the direct result of inane policies like cashless bail and the dumb decisions by big-city district attorneys not to prosecute violent criminals.

People in the small Kansas towns I grew up in would not allow drug-addled criminals to loot the corner drug store, rob the town grocer, shoot police, or sucker punch unwary pedestrians.

Such behavior would have consequences, and the response just might be violent. Just saying…

For one thing, people in small towns are often armed—and even if they aren’t, they will fight back. Those in the towns I grew up in would. They would defend businesses attacked by looters and thieves because the folks who own and operate those businesses are their neighbors and friends.

They would not allow lawbreakers to occupy Main Street and burn down buildings. They would not countenance drug-addled junkies shooting up heroin or fentanyl in front of a school, or anywhere else for that matter.

That’s just how it is in small-town America and Aldean’s song is right on point:

“Well, try that in a small town, see how far ya make it down the road,” Aldean sings.

The lyrics also refer to “a gun that my granddad gave me” and communities “full of good ol’ boys, raised up right.”

The response by the leftist woke mob has been to accuse Aldean of being a racist who is promoting vigilantism and, yes, that old leftist standby, white supremacy.

Ridiculous.

While people who live in big cities have seemingly conceded the streets to looters, drug-addicted junkies, ANTIFA thugs, and other miscreants, you will find that is NOT the case in most small towns.

That is the warning contained in the lyrics of Aldean’s song, which today hit #1 on the iTunes download chart—even after Country Music Television (CMT) pulled the song off the air a few days ago, saying it was racist and incited violence.

In a Twitter post this week, Aldean insisted that the song has nothing to do with race and is instead a celebration of small-town values.

“In the past 24 hours, I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song . . . . that I was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests,” he said. “These references are not only meritless but dangerous.

“Try That in a Small Town, for me,” he tweeted, “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.”

The music video was filmed in front of a courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee. Critics noted that a white mob lynched a young black man, Henry Choate, from the building in 1927. In a prime example of tortured logic, critics argue that, by extension, Aldean’s song promotes lynching.

Never mind that the courthouse has been used as the backdrop in several films, including the Hannah Montana movie and the 2022 Lifetime Original television movie “Steppin’ into the Holiday” starring Mario Lopez and Jana Kramer.  I don’t recall the woke mob going ballistic over those films.

For those who have not yet heard the lyrics of Aldean’s song, here they are:

“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
Cuss out a cop, spit in his face
Stomp on the flag and light it up
Yeah, ya think you’re tough

Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
‘Round 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

Got a gun that my granddad gave me
They say one day they’re gonna round up
Well, that shit might fly in the city; good luck

Well, try that in a small town
See how far ya make it down the road
‘Round 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.
Full of good ol’ boys, raised up right
If you’re looking for a fight
Try that in a small town
Try that in a small town

Try that in a small town.
(See how far ya make it down the road)
‘Round 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

And if you haven’t yet seen the video, here it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1_RKu-ESCY&t=1s

If, after reading the lyrics and viewing the video, you come to the conclusion that Aldean’s song is promoting lynching, racism, or carnage, then be my guest.

But you might want to stay away from my small towns.

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