Why do politicians persist in playing "Born in the U.S.A."

“Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering u”

It never fails—and it never ceases to amaze me.

“Got in a little hometown jam
So they put a rifle in my hand
Sent me off to a foreign land
To go and kill the yellow man”

“Born in the U.S.A.” is among the first songs played whenever there's a political rally or a patriotic parade. When you look at the above lyrics, do you think that is what is great about living in America or being an American?

There’s even more:

“Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years burning down the road
Nowhere to run ain’t got nowhere to go”

I do get it—kind of. What these politicians think is so appropriate about the song is this:

Born in the U.S.A.
I was born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I’m a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I’m a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.

Yeah, Bruce might be that “cool rocking Daddy”, and you’re thinking because I play rock music at my event I can be that too—but you aren’t—not even close. Why? Because it’s not that difficult to do a simple Google search to find the lyrics to this song and realize it’s quite what you thought it to be. If you can’t do that, find someone computer-literate on your staff to do it for you. Then, maybe have someone interpret the actual meaning of the tune. And then maybe— just maybe— you can pick another song that fits the occasion. And then maybe—just maybe—you’ll be closer to that “cool rocking Daddy'“—-but probably not.