Springsteen's Middle

In April, 2016, Bruce Springsteen canceled a concert in Greensboro, North Carolina. He issued a statement explaining why: 

North Carolina just passed HB2, which the media  are referring to as the 'bathroom' law. HB2... dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace." Pivoting to refer to people fighting against these measures, Springsteen added, "I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters. As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry... is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.

Yesterday, Bruce Springsteen appeared in an advertisement for Jeep. Leave aside, for a moment, the notion of Springsteen "selling out." The case can easily be made that that ship sailed back when he played the Super Bowl halftime (sponsored by Anheuser Busch), or more recently when he put out his "Letter to You" documentary film exclusively on Apple TV+.

Leave aside the craftsmanship of the 2 minute spot, which was put together very quickly in the final days before the Super Bowl. It's visually beautiful, sounds great, and to anyone who watched recent Springsteen films such as "Western Stars," the motifs will seem instantly familiar.

Consider what Springsteen says. He didn't write the script draft, but he worked on it and ultimately delivered it, over some atmospheric music that he composed and used for the ad: 

There’s a chapel in Kansas standing on the exact center of the Lower 48. It never closes. All are more than welcome to come meet here — in the middle. It's no secret the middle has been a hard place to get to lately, between red and blue, between servant and citizen, between our freedom and our fear.

The cross in the middle of the flag in the middle of the chapel in the middle of the country.

By now, the imagery has shifted from the chapel's steeple, to a an image of the inside of the chapel where there's a wall with a heart on a cross in front of the middle of a map of the continental United States, minus Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with 41 stars, and the red and white stripes reversed, to Bruce behind the wheel of his open-air 1980 CJ-5 in the snow, without a fastened seat belt. Whether or not Bruce is actually driving the vehicle is not entirely clear to me.

He goes on to talk about how it's our freedom that connects us all... in the middle. "We need the middle."

The platitudes continue: "We just need to remember, the very soil we stand on, is common ground."

Who is this person preaching such a curious form of Manifest Destiny, and what happened to the person who refused to compromise in 2016?

Bruce's stand back in 2016 had an impact: Others followed. And, while Bruce's stand wasn't the immediate cause, within a year the law was rolled back.

In April, 2016, I did not know that I had a transgender child, but I felt I understood what it meant to take a stand on that issue. I wonder, now, with whom among the supporters of travesties such as HB2 am I supposed to find common ground? As a Jew, am I supposed to find common ground in a church, in front of that cross? Where is "the middle" with people who sought to deport Muslims? Where is "the middle" with the people who carried tiki torches in Charlottesville, or with those who stormed the nation's Capitol? Where is "the middle" with those who would separate parents from children?

Springsteen behind the wheel of his 1980 CJ-5

As I wrote in 2016, I wasn't happy that the show was canceled, but I was thrilled with the decision.

Today feels like the opposite. Yes, it's a beautiful ad. Well crafted by Springsteen and film-maker Thom Zimny and producer Ron Aniello, The music is nice and the sentiment is sweet and earnest and even hopeful. Never mind that Springsteen has campaigned for every Democratic candidate for President since John Kerry, he sounds like the middle is his place. The ad received many nice reviews, including a 5-star review in AdAge labeling it a "triumph." And, as one of my fan friends quipped, "no classic Springsteen songs was harmed in the making of this commercial."

The ad appeared with eight minutes and six seconds remaining in the game. By that time, the competitive portion of the Super Bowl was over. Maybe better that way.

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