Just like "Born in the USA", I can hear the distant discussions of campaign managers talking about using this song in their campaign. Of course, this is based only on a cursory listen to the refrain and the triumphant nature of the melody.
Unlike "Born in the USA", I can't quite seem to comprehend who Bruce is aiming his arrow at. The brilliance of "Born" was that it followed a single character who ended up going off to "fight the yellow man", had his brother killed, and found himself "ten years down the road", with no opportunity.
I would tend to suspect that it's our ruling class - the lyrical reference to the Superdome, and that the cavalry wasn't coming. We can bomb a country on the other side of the planet in hours, but we can't send our military in to rescue our own drowning people? Are we really taking care of our own?
However, some small part of me believes this is an indictment of the average American's selfish attitude these days. Sure, if your neighbor's house burns down, you'll see the whole community respond and come to their aid. But politicians get applauded for telling the unemployed to "just get a job", they get applauded for saying we should just deport illegals, they get applauded for promoting endless war around the world.
I know that may just be a small nutty contingent of our population, but the brazen, heartless things coming out of some of our leaders' mouths gives me pause. They wouldn't be saying those things if it didn't get them votes and attention. Maybe the "hearts that have turned to stone" Bruce is referring to includes us, the people, as well as our politicans - I sure hope not. But I have to admit it could be true.
Just like "Born in the USA", I can hear the distant discussions of campaign managers talking about using this song in their campaign. Of course, this is based only on a cursory listen to the refrain and the triumphant nature of the melody.
Unlike "Born in the USA", I can't quite seem to comprehend who Bruce is aiming his arrow at. The brilliance of "Born" was that it followed a single character who ended up going off to "fight the yellow man", had his brother killed, and found himself "ten years down the road", with no opportunity.
I would tend to suspect that it's our ruling class - the lyrical reference to the Superdome, and that the cavalry wasn't coming. We can bomb a country on the other side of the planet in hours, but we can't send our military in to rescue our own drowning people? Are we really taking care of our own?
However, some small part of me believes this is an indictment of the average American's selfish attitude these days. Sure, if your neighbor's house burns down, you'll see the whole community respond and come to their aid. But politicians get applauded for telling the unemployed to "just get a job", they get applauded for saying we should just deport illegals, they get applauded for promoting endless war around the world.
I know that may just be a small nutty contingent of our population, but the brazen, heartless things coming out of some of our leaders' mouths gives me pause. They wouldn't be saying those things if it didn't get them votes and attention. Maybe the "hearts that have turned to stone" Bruce is referring to includes us, the people, as well as our politicans - I sure hope not. But I have to admit it could be true.