Everyone is entitled to their opinion and they can write about it all they want. Conversely, we’re also allowed to argue against whatever they happened to post if we disagree, and I wholeheartedly disagree with Christianity Today‘s recent article that took offense to Oliver Anthony’s song, “Rich Men North of Richmond.”
Specifically, the author didn’t like the lines where Anthony lambasts obese people on welfare buying “fudge rounds” while others starve on the streets. Is it harsh? Maybe. But I believe Anthony wasn’t blasting everyone on welfare, just those who shouldn’t be but are taking advantage of the system.
I’m not alone:
I thought for sure this had to be a joke, but nope, it’s real!! The Evangelical Rich Men North of Richmond would like you to know, they would prefer if you didn’t like that song that captures the pain of watching the country crumble around us.? https://t.co/324w7BBntF
— Megan Basham (@megbasham) August 17, 2023
Here are the lyrics the author from Christianity Today didn’t like:
Lord, we got folks in the street, ain’t got nothin’ to eat
And the obese milkin’ welfare
Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds
Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds
The story reveals the author’s personal experience in the past with being on food stamps, which is why she doesn’t like the song. That’s fine. Where I take exception is that she claims other Christians shouldn’t like it, either.
That’s not her concern. This is not a Biblical issue just because she got offended. Again, if Anthony went after EVERYONE needing assistance, that would be one thing. But he singled out morbidly obese people using taxpayer funds to buy unhealthy food. I see nothing anti-Biblical about such a notion.
Oliver Anthony’s song doesn’t rank in the top 10,000 problems this nation and the world faces from a Biblical perspective. A Christian publication and author might want to address real issues instead of manufacturing one over lyrics in a song they don’t like.
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
