You're right. I think that there will be more people talking like this. I think there is a moment that the American left will begin to make use of. The American left will begin to talk more openly of its values, its religious values, and where those values come from in the religious tradition. I think that this is coming. If you heard it from me first, well, I’m not the first and I think you'll be hearing it more.
One thing I do wonder about is if I'm the first person to put out a record like this. It's so monochromatic. Either you're a church hater or you're in the club doing Christian praise rock. Where's the both? Where's in between? That's where I think America is really at. I think America is both and that gives us some of our energy and makes us fascinating in ways that I've really come to appreciate and love. That's what "My Strange Nation" is about; loving my country despite its contradictions, and maybe even because of its contradictions. It's a country of great personality. We're charming. At the dinner table of the world, we're sparkling conversationalists.
I think it's somewhat risky to put out an album that isn't one way or the other. That's one of the things that the Republican Party has shown. If you are really strident in one area, you're going to get people flocking to you because everything becomes black and white. Grey is difficult to manage.
I don't know what the commercial potential of this project is, but it happened without me thinking those thoughts. It happened before I could get those thoughts around the project. Either that's foolhardy or it's brilliant. I don't know yet. We'll see when it comes out what kind of reception it gets. I suspect that there is people like you and me who will be delighted that somebody came out and said that America is both pious and suspicious, and that any time of day, any day of the week, you can feel either one of those.
"My Strange Nation" has gotten a good reception, so that's hopeful.
It's wonderful that the song means so much for people, and to get emails from folks that say, "Thank God you wrote this song this way. Thank God you can acknowledge both feelings of deep love and deep mistrust of your nation and its government." It's been really satisfying to do this project. I think down the road what's tricky as a writer is to know how far to involve yourself personally.
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