Garth Brooks briefly ranted about Americans who choose to live in echo chambers when he was recognized with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize on Monday night.
Music legend Garth Brooks absolutely nails exactly what's wrong with politics in 2020. No one expected him to go off like this.
"If you want to surround yourself with people that only think like you do, we are in DEEP trouble."
WATCH THIS. pic.twitter.com/7mhWCfXglj
— The First (@TheFirstonTV) March 5, 2020
The country music legend and his wife Trisha Yearwood sat down to talk with Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden about their music careers and humanitarian projects they’re involved with.
The conversation, held at the Library of Congress on March 2nd, ended up drifting towards the topic of tolerance.
Explaining how things went when he was young, Brooks said, “It kills me today where when we were kids, you know as the generations change. When we were kids and there was a list of ten things and you didn’t agree on seven of them, ‘You’re still my buddy. You’re a dipshit, but your still my buddy, right?'”
“We’re in the Library of Congress,” Hayden jokingly reminded Brooks, adding, “That’s pretty cool.”
“Yes, ma’am. Sorry,” the country legend responded as the audience laughed. “But the thing is now if we don’t line up on ten out of ten things, we can’t be friends.”
“People, there is a thing called like-mindedness, which I’m all for. Love one another, protect one another, like-mindedness,” Brooks continued. “But if you want to surround yourself with people that only think like you do, we are in DEEP trouble.”
Getting excited over the importance of tolerance, Brooks stood up, noting, “I’ve sat as long as I can.”
Proceeding, Garth told the crowd, “Yes, stand up for what you believe, but at the same time man, turn these on. Listen,” he implored, pointing to his ears.
He told the audience to “digest, then spew if you have to but don’t try to out-scream one another. Especially on social media.”
Concluding his rant, Brooks stressed that “likemindedness is good, a common goal… to love one another, to get somewhere. But how we’re gonna get there is going take all of our opinions and all of our efforts.”
This line of thought used to be commonplace among a majority of Americans, but in today’s hostile political environment, Brooks’ message is key to minimizing the divide ripping our country apart.
Watch the full interview below:
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