Jason Aldean, Jonathan Turley & the lesson of Adam Smith's Invisible Hand

I thought about titling this post 'Try that in a small town' but thought better of it. I'm basing this article off Jason Aldean's hit single of the same name. I'm also basing it on Jonathan Turley's article on the lessons CMT is getting taught by Adam Smith's Invisible Hand principle. Near the top of Prof. Turley's article, he notes that "Putting aside CMT’s effort to become the Bud Light of music networks, the decision to yield to the intense cancel campaign is an abandonment of principles of artistic freedom and free speech."

I've spent lots of time in small-town Minnesota so this hits home a little more intensely than other songs or ballads hit home. Part of the reason is because, in small-town Minnesota that I'm familiar with, everybody looks out for everybody. That's really the basis for Mr. Aldean's hit single. That doesn't mean small-town folk get along perfectly with each other. It simply means they're there for each other in difficult times.

Honestly, in the small towns I'm familiar with, the thought of violence is pretty much about barroom brawls on a Saturday night. People are aware of riots in distant big cities but it isn't top-of-mind with small-town folk. But I digress. This is likely what sparked the firestorm:

"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."

The Cancel Culture mob didn't waste time before criticizing him. Aldean issued this statement in response:

In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous.

There is not a single lyric in the song that references race or points to it — and there isn’t a single video clip that isn’t real news footage — and while I can try and respect others to have their own interpretation of a song with music — this one goes too far.

These people are unhinged. Thanks to CMT's decision to pull Mr. Aldean's hit song, we've got proof that Adam Smith's Invisible Hand Principle still works beautifully. Authority figures attempted to control the people. In return, Adam Smith's Invisible Hand had the last word on things, as it often does.

I just finished watching Mr. Aldean's song. I recommend you do the same:

For those of you who are hard-of-hearing like me, here are the lyrics for the song.