Dear Fellow Southerners:
Oh, my goodness. What are y'all going to do with this? (Note: There will be a very brief ad before the meat.)
That's right, fellow Southerners. You did just see what you thought you saw. That was indeed Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and (gasp) Dale Earnhardt Jr. starring in a PSA that will air during the Sprint Cup race this Sunday to promote the President's address to your children.
Now, look. I'm a native southerner, just like y'all. Born and raised in Alabama - Roll Tide! And I know how much we all love NASCAR, a sport native to our region.
I also know that many of you are absolutely horrified that a black man is the President of the United States, and that you are willing to believe - that you in fact clamor for - the lies that many spew about our President. That he's not really an American. That he's a socialist (whatever that is). And that he is planning to brainwash your children next week, indoctrinating them with propaganda fitting of the Soviet Union.
Now, sure, there are plenty of folks in other parts of the country that feel the same way. But, see - I ain't one of them, so I don't feel like I can address them with anything approximating full understanding. I'm just not one of them, as I learned all to well when I lived among them briefly in upstate New York.
No, y'all. Like it or not, I'm one of you.
Now, granted, I drive a Volvo. But I also love muscle cars, and if I could afford it there'd be a 68 'Cuda with a 340 and a 727 Tourqueflight in my driveway right now. Yeah, I like somewhat expensive coffee. But I've also pounded down more than my share of PBR over the years and enjoyed every damn swig. Yeah, I like bands like New Order. But I absolutely love Hank Williams (Sr.) and no man's music has meant more to me. Hell, I also like Skynard, if you must know.
And so I feel perfectly justified in saying this: some of y'all need a good talkin' to. Because you're wrong. And you're being fed lies and hatred and bigotry. You're being used, goddamn it. Just like Wallace used you, just like Nixon used you, just like Reagan used you.
But look at the video I linked again. Now, I know Juan Pablo don't count. And Gordon ain't gonna carry much weight with you either, being from California and all.
But, damn...Dale Jr.? I know how y'all feel about Junior, and rightly so. He's carried himself awfully well. His daddy'd be proud. And there he is, in that video.
And not only that. Look at what Junior said back in January:
"I’m as excited as everybody else is," Earnhardt Jr. said during Wednesday’s stop at Hendrick Motorsports on the Sprint Media Tour hosted by Lowe’s Motor Speedway. "I wish I had been able to go to the inauguration. That would have been nice to have been able to have been there, but it was pretty busy it looked like."
See that? Now look here. He said this, too:
"I’d love to meet our new president. That would be a great honor of mine," he said. "I was as excited as everybody else. I feel like that we all understand that [the United States] is in a difficult situation. Even with the bailouts and all that stuff, it hasn’t totally fixed everything. ... We’ve still got a long ways to go.
"We’ve still got a lot of different areas to get uglier, so hopefully we all will survive the worst of it."
See that? That's y'all's boy talkin'. Sounds to me like an awfully good man.
Look, y'all. I know that there are many of you who aren't going to agree with everything the president does, and that's fine. All I'm asking is that you not fill your heads with lies and hate. I'm asking that you keep an open mind and heart and listen - really listen - to what our president has to say next week, first on the topic of education and then, Wednesday night, on the topic of health care.
Because here's the thing: I love y'all. I really do. And believe it or not, I share pretty much all the same values that you do.
And I'd wager to say that Barack Obama - the man, the husband, the father, the President - does, too.