
Any doubt that America has been taken over by political tribalism can be settled by looking at some of the reaction to country music icon Garth Brooks wearing a jersey with “Sanders 20” on the back at his recent concert in Detroit, Michigan.
The “Sanders 20” jersey caused outrage among some Garth Brooks fans. Here are a few posts that hit social media:
And then there were the Bernie Sanders supports posting their approval. One post read: “Welp. Looks like @garthbrooks just became my favorite country singer! #FellTheBern2020. And I despise country music.”
The fact that people reacted to the “Sanders 20” jersey as a political statement from Garth Brooks proves that many Americans have become overly sensitive to their political ideology. It was actually a Detroit Lions jersey, and was Brooks paying tribute to Hall of Fame running back #20 Barry Sanders, who wore #20.
Any assumption that Garth Brooks was wearing that jersey as an endorsement of Democrat and self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders demonstrates the evils of political tribalism. Since many country music artists and their audiences are politically conservative, the idea that Garth Brooks was supporting Bernie Sanders should have caused enough pause to consider another possibility. But political sensitivity is so touchy that people were quick to judge the jersey as a political statement.
The term “snowflake” may have been invented to describe liberals who are easily offended – but the reaction to the jersey proves that many conservatives are “snowflakes,” too.
And for all of those who condemned Garth Brooks for supporting Bernie Sanders and pleading that he entertain and not promote his politics – do you think any of them would have objected to Garth Brooks wearing a jersey with “Trump 20” on the back?
If you are honestly against entertainers promoting politics – then you have to be against entertainers supporting President Trump or any politician. If not – you would be a typical hypocrite. But it does seem as if a lot of Americans are content being hypocrites.