A large number of American flags were set on fire by a group of communist revolutionaries with links to the Revolutionary Communist Party (RevCom), which took place outside of a concert in Chicago that was performed by Jason Aldean. The purpose of the protestors was to raise attention to the mission of RevCom, which is to provoke a Marxist revolution in the United States of America, which the demonstrators refer to as “the belly of the beast.” After a period of time, the authorities reached the conclusion that the assembly was illegal and should be dispersed.
RevCom makes this claim on its website, stating that it has “assumed the responsibility of leading a revolution in the United States as part of the larger global revolution with communism as its ultimate goal.” In their manifesto, they praise leaders like Mao for using the “scientific method” and various aspects of the Cultural Revolution.
It was possible to hear the demonstrators shouting the phrase “We did it in a tiny town!” throughout the whole of the event. The lyric “We did it in a small town!” can be found in Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town,” which is one of his songs.
Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town” sparked quite a deal of controversy when it was originally made available to the public. This was due to the fact that many individuals, both listeners and observers, believed that the song’s lyrics and music video were insulting to the Black Lives Matter movement. Following the receipt of unfavorable comments about the song, there was an increase in sales, which sent it to the top of the list on iTunes. Aldean said, as part of his rebuttal to the argument, that he had been wrongly accused of supporting lynching and that such analogies were both hurtful and without foundation. He added that such accusations were destructive. He also emphasized that people should avoid making such allusions if it was practicable to do so.
This event brings to light the intersection in contemporary American culture that exists between the realms of political engagement, artistic expression, and philosophical inquiry.