“Gonna be a twister to blow everything down//That ain’t got the faith to stand its ground.” These are the lyrics to “The Promised Land,” the song that Bruce Springsteen or “The Boss” opened with at Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’ rally in Philadelphia.

The choice of this song was strategic: as the name suggests, the narrator longs for the promised land, for the American dream so often heard of but so rarely experienced. By singing it at Harris’ rally, the message is clear: Former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump is a storm that will blow away any semblance of a dream. 

This performance was criticized by many Trump supporters, from those online to the Republican’s media director. Most comments boiled down to the same judgment: that as an artist, Springsteen should abstain from expressing his political beliefs. 

But throughout his career, Springsteen has consistently been political. Some of his most popular songs like “The Streets of Philadelphia,” “The River,” “Atlantic City” and even “Born in the U.S.A.” criticize the American government or traditional ideals. 

The people who claim to be shocked by Springsteen’s support for Harris have not paid enough attention to his art. Many online voiced that while they love him as an artist, they cannot get behind his politics. 

But to any real fan of Springsteen, this support was not a shock. Back in 1984, when President Ronald Reagan was seeking reelection, the singer restricted him from using his music at his rallies and cautioned that Reagan took resources away from the general American and instead gave them to “people that don’t need them.”

Five years later, he released “The Streets of Philadelphia,” criticizing the Reagan administration’s handling of the AIDS epidemic, imploring the government to take action. 

Springsteen’s discography, like most artists, is rooted in his personal beliefs. It was these beliefs that gave “The Boss” his platform. Yet when he strips away the metaphors and applies them to modern politics, the people who once identified with him attack him. 

Since Springsteen is a political artist, I find it ironic that people argue they like his music but cannot stand his politics. It is essentially saying “I like the Springsteen song opposing the Vietnam War, but why does an anti-war song need to be political?”

Springsteen is far from the only artist to receive this criticism. Nearly any celebrity, from actors to authors, has accumulated belittling comments by voicing their political opinions. Yet these people are trusted to make art about the world around us which requires them to understand the nature of politics. 

Art imitates life. It uses a narrative to comment on current events. Audiences are able to sympathize with an issue when it is told through a character rather than just reading the headlines. 

Take “Do the Right Thing” as an example. The film is set in Bedstuy, New York during Brooklyn’s early stages of gentrification. The film follows the primarily Black neighborhood’s conflict with the white owners of a pizza joint. 

“Do the Right Thing” comments on the increasing polarization around race during the 1990s. For many white audiences, the film was a way to see a perspective they may have otherwise missed. While they can grasp the idea of police brutality, seeing it happen to a character that they have spent an hour and a half getting to know, holds more weight. 

It transforms the topic from a concept to a problem, because the audience sees the issue through a character, not a reporter. 

While art can expand on the way an audience may perceive a current event, it is politics that shape these events. Since the government holds power over its citizens, the decisions it makes will impact their lives. Therefore, for an artist to comment on the American experience, they must, to some extent, comment on politics. So claiming that artists should distance themselves from politics would mean the art they produce would no longer reflect the audience’s life. 

The line between celebrity and politician is starting to blur. For most of his career, former President Trump was a celebrity: only in the last nine years has he moved into politics. It feels hypocritical to condone any celebrity who voices support for Harris while casting a vote for a celebrity.