You may be aware, or have some vague idea, that the bluegrass classic "Rocky Top" is the unofficial fight song of the University of Tennessee. It's a good song! It's also rather an odd choice for a university fight song.
It's about moonshiners who murder outsiders who come to their mountain. (Could be referring to law enforcement but doesn't explicitly say so.) The song boasts that they don't engage in agriculture, and by implication any productive activity, other than illegally distilling whiskey and consuming the product. The song also boasts about not having telephone service.
I do not think this represents the aspirations of the typical college student, even at the University of Tennessee. Nor would I think it describes their personal origins. It seems rather surprising that the university officials and Tennessee politicians who routinely evoke the song as a symbol of Tennessee pride want the state to be viewed in this way.
Perhaps people have some thoughts.
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It seems rather surprising that the university officials and Tennessee politicians who routinely evoke the song as a symbol of Tennessee pride want the state to be viewed in this way.
The only ones viewing the state "that way" are those who take all of this literally and without cultural context.
These are the same people who are equally mystified as to why anyone would have voted for President Trump or Republicans in general.
They measure everyone by what they, themselves, would do and how they would feel, and come away dumbfounded.
It's not so much the "craziness" of the people, it's the lack of understanding of their culture.
That's nice. So please explain to me what the cultural context is and how Tennesseans actually view this. I was asking. Or maybe you don't have the slightest idea?
Since you asked (and asked nicely)...
Southern cultures reject the new radical cultural norms advanced by the liberal East and West coasts such as abortion upon demand without restrictions, even to under aged girls, the mainstreaming of sexual deviation(s)in society and government as the solver of all social ills, among others.
They tend to embrace more traditional norms such as man + woman marriage, individualism and Christianity along with a healthy love of personal individualism, independence and freedom. Being told by the Elites what a bunch of assholes they must be for not getting on the gay bandwagon or embracing gun control does not help their attitudes much, either.
It's all about "Resistance", Mr. Cervantes.
To be even clearer, the resistance is evident in the song lyrics.
Love of their home and land. Rejection of city problems. Resistance to outside authority. It's all there.
You should spend some time in some of these places that puzzle you. Travel expands one's horizons.
So southerners don't live in cities? And they distill illicit whiskey and don't do any honest work? And they murder police officers? That's interesting.
It doesn't appear that you really care to understand these people.
So, you can go on wondering why, oh why, would anyone vote for Trump or even Roy Moore.
And then you can be equally stumped when you get more of the same from them in the future.
There will always be people who vote for rotten politicians. The more we educate people to think critically, the less they will be willing to vote for people who continually screw them over. Just watch the tax bill vote; it may fail yet because people are getting fed up with getting screwed over. And that's the bottom line.
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