I live in Nashville, Tennessee, and I have a small business producing “demos,” or demonstration recordings, for songwriters. Most of my clients come to me over the internet, and I have recorded songs for folks in England, Sweden, Holland, Belgium, Australia, Canada, and of course, the U.S. A couple of days ago, a man called me from East Tennessee, and told me he had heard some demos I had done for a friend of his, and he wanted me to do some recordings of his songs. We had a pleasant enough conversation about his songwriting, but near the end of the phone call, he suddenly asked, “You’re not one of those Obama people, are you?” 

Although I probably could be described as ‘one of those Obama people’, I quickly said, “I don’t really like to talk about politics,” because I needed the work and I didn’t see any point in discussing my opinion of the President with a total stranger. But after we hung up, I wondered, what possible connection could there be between my political leanings and whether or not I can do a good job recording his songs? 

I have had this experience before, with clients that live in traditionally red states like Texas, Missouri, Louisiana, and Alabama wanting to know what my politics were. Or somehow, because I work in the country music industry, many people just assume that I am a country boy with conservative views about religion, politics, and life. One older man in Texas continually includes me in his mass emails of anti-Obama screeds and racially offensive cartoons. Hey, folks, just because I sometimes play the banjo, that doesn’t make me just like those guys in “Deliverance.”

Many people, especially here in the south, seem to hate Obama with a virulence that is way out of proportion to what he has done, or not done. I don’t think there is much doubt that this is due to the fact that they have never accepted the idea a black man could be elected President. Of course they deny this, and say that they hate him because of the bailout, the health care law, or because he’s coming for their guns (in the case of the real nutballs). But deep down, they hate him because he’s black, and smart, and not like them.

Back when George W. Bush was in office, I disliked many of his policies. But that did not cause me to stop seeing my friends or patronizing businesses who did happen to like him. But there is something different going on today. Our society has become so polarized that many people only socialize with those who share their views, if they socialize at all. These days, most folks don’t even know their neighbors names or what they do. People drive home from work listening to either Rush or NPR, but never both. At night, they sit down in front of a TV to watch either Fox News or MSNBC, depending on their politics.  

And now, apparently, someone thinks that if I was a supporter of the President, it means I couldn’t possibly do a good job on his project. 

That’s just messed up.