History
America: we are divided. Sure our politics are that way, and have been for a while. Even before Trump, there was the Tea Party. And before that, there was the “crisis” over Bill Clinton’s immorality. Remember the Republican Speaker, Newt Gingrich, who impeached Clinton? He was having an affair at the time, while his wife had cancer. And then his replacement, Bob Livingston, was “outed” for his affairs by Larry Flynt (Hustler Magazine), and never took the job. And the man who finally did become Speaker, Dennis Hastert, turned out to be a former high school wrestling coach who molested his kids. As my mother would say, “the pots” were definitely calling “the kettle” black.
And we have been divided musically. There are modern hip hop folks. Some very close to me are Electric Dance Music aficionados. I live in Pataskala, and often hear modern country music blasting from cars and garages. And a few of us “older ones”, are still listening to rock from the 1960’s and 70’s. But music doesn’t have to divide. One of the best concerts I went to was Garth Brooks. And I’ve been completing the “last chance” tours; the Eagles, Stevie Nicks, the Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, and variations of Led Zeppelin and the Who. And I love some Bluegrass, summer with James Taylor, and even Chris Stapleton.
Super Bowl
But America, we’ve found a new way to divide ourselves: the Super Bowl halftime show. Now that show always had some controversy. I think it really started with Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake at Super Bowl XXXVIII (38) back in 2004, when the famous “wardrobe malfunction” occurred. Janet’s naked breast was revealed to a national television audience. (I was driving home from Cleveland, and only got to “hear” the controversy at the time). The NFL tried to serve the eclectic tastes of American music, from Rock to Country to Pop to Rap. And this year, they brought in Bad Bunny.
Full disclosure: I truly had no idea who Bad Bunny was until he was announced for the NFL halftime show. Google’s AI defines his style as “Latin Trap and reggaeton”, or, “musica urbana”. Anyway, I caught up with him through his month long series of concerts in Puerto Rico, where I realized two things: my Spanish isn’t very good, and his beat is. No, I’m not a Bad Bunny fan, but he definitely gets things going, and that’s all good.
Musica
Bad Bunny is Puerto Rican. That makes him a natural-born American citizen, much to the surprise of many. Even though the current President discovered the Puerto Rico was an island, surrounded by ocean (just before he started throwing paper towel rolls), it’s been a part of the United States since the Spanish-American War in 1898. That’s longer than five of the states have been in the Union. The main language of Puerto Rico is Spanish, and Bad Bunny, like most Puerto Ricans, is fluent in both Spanish and English.
But his “musica” is in Spanish. He’s Latino, like many of the folks the ICE is trying to “round up”. And he is clear that he thinks the current Trump campaign to “rid” America of undocumented migrants is wrong. So the battle of the Patriots versus the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX was subsumed by the American battle over the actions of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security. (Super Bowl LX, that’s sixty. You know you’re old when you remember Super Bowl I, back in 1967, when the Packers beat the Chiefs, and Jazz trumpeter Al Hirt was the halftime show).
Winners and Losers
So America divided: the Bad Bunny halftime show, or the alternative, Turning Point halftime show, streamed online. Turning Point headlined Trump supporter Kid Rock, along with country stars Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, andGabby Barrett (yeah, I don’t know them either). And, just like the game, score was kept. Around 140 million watched Bad Bunny. About six million watched Kid Rock.
Of course, Bad Bunny had the advantage. He was live on the actual game field, not pre-recorded in Atlanta. He was joined by Lady Gaga, and Ricky Martin. And folks were watching halftime of the football game on TV, not “tuned in” to a streaming computer screen. So it’s really not fair to claim “victory” for the anti-Trump forces. But, on the other hand, only six million determined to make the “political statement” of turning their back on Bad Bunny. Maybe they didn’t even watch the game. But even at the Mar-A-Lago Dinner Club, the Super Bowl party watched…Bad Bunny. Trump didn’t like it.
We can divide over anything. Remember when Kid Rock decided the Bud Light was “trans-beer”. He shot his AR-15 into a six pack. And we can find fault over Janet Jackson’s wardrobe, or Cold Play showing a rainbow image (gay?) in Super Bowl L (50). But Bad Bunny took full advantage of his moment on the stage. And his message was: Love America, Love Puerto Rico, and…just love. There was even a real wedding on stage during the show.
Maybe we shouldn’t be so divided about that.
