Tag: Conservatism and Springsteen

I’m gonna give you a two-fer here.  We’ll cover two of Andrew Sullivan’s definitions of what makes  a conservative in one article, since they’re both just a tad thin. The first of the two – “Conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as they oppose involuntary collectivism“?  Gotta confess, that one’s pretty thin throughout the history of…

One of the fundamental tenets of the “classical liberalism” that is the basis of modern conservatism is the idea first recorded by John Locke – that men form governments to protect life, liberty and private property; that private property was in fact a cornerstone of real liberty, and that protecting it against the depredations of…

SIDE NOTE:  It’s amazing how life can derail a guy’s plans.  While – as is my wont with these long series – much of the rough material was put together in October and November, I held off on actually putting it into a written form, thinking it’d give me something to do during the two-month…

In “The Promised Land” – a song that constantly flits about the top of most hard-core Springsteen fans’ lists of favorite songs – paints a bleak picture for the everyday schlub: I done my best to live the right way I get up every morning and go to work each day. But your eyes go…

In the world of Rock and Roll, in the words of Neil Young, “it’s better to burn out than fade away”. In the world of Bruce Springsteen’s music, when characters screw up, they flame out big-time – and usually take other people down with ’em. In “Johnny 99”, from Nebraska, the protagonist – “Ralph” –…

It’s a little-noticed verse of a song buried in Bruce Springsteen’s biggest studio album: Now, honey, I don’t wanna clip your wings But a time comes when two people should think of these things Having a home and a family, facing up to their responsibilities They say in the end true love prevails But in the…

In the song “Darlington County” (from Born in the USA), a couple of ne’er-do-wells drive south to find a little work and raise a little ruckus: Hey little girl standing on the corner, Todays your lucky day for sure, all right. Me and my buddy we’re from New York City, we got two hundred dollars, we…

Before I get into the beef of the series, it seems I need to do a little remedial art appreciation, logic and rhetoric. For starters, my thesis, and the case I’m making, is “Why Bruce Springsteen is America’s Greatest Conservative Songwriter”.  Not “Bruce Springsteen is a Conservative”.  He’s not.  That’s all duly noted and stipulated…

Bruce Springsteen. There may be no more politically-divisive figure in popular music today. On the one hand, he openly campaigns for liberal Democrats, and against conservatism, every election cycle.  This earns the ire and contempt of many conservatives.  And with a net worth of $200 million – four times Michael Moore’s portfolio – he’s the…