John Rich says there is much more to unite us than divide us, even now. The 47-year-old, who has been vocal about his political views, his beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine and more on social media, insists that in spite of how divisive the country seems right now, there is still more to unite people than divide them. Much more.
“I think what’s going on right now in the country steps way outside of any political party whatsoever,” Rich tells Everything Nash. “Listen, there’s enough Republicans out there who claim to be for certain things that are in it just as a game for themselves, just like most politicians are. And I think it’s down to the American people seriously now. It’s we the people. When a mandate comes down nationwide, that affects everybody. When gas prices go up, that affects everybody. When your taxes go through the roof, that affects everybody. All these big things, what they’re teaching in schools, that affects everybody. If you have a kid, that affects every parent.”
It’s children who Rich says can become at least part of the way people can find ways to agree, instead of disagree.
“What do I still have in common with a really liberal dad? The word ‘Dad.’ We still have that in common,” the father of two says. “We still like to watch our kids do well and go hit a baseball, or we want them to learn and to understand things. We still have all those things in common.”
The irony isn’t lost on Rich that while so much in the country — and the world — seems to be in upheaval, people are finding ways to unite like never before.
“Afghanistan, when you see how that was handled, nobody likes what happened in Afghanistan,” Rich reflects. “Nobody thinks that that’s good. In a really odd way, the massive negative things that are happening right now across the border, are actually starting to cause unity with people. Isn’t that strange?”
“The fact is, a lot of us are unified,” he continues. “We’re not unified politically, but reunified that we don’t like this. We don’t like this at all. And I hear it from people all the time. I’m friends with a lot of liberal people, because I’m a musician. Liberal comedians, actors, singer, songwriters, producers, all kinds of people that call me up as I guess their token conservative friend that won’t yell at them. ‘Cause I don’t yell at them. I don’t. I want to know why they think what they think and, and have respect for them.”
Rich’s answer to end the division is decidedly simple, which might be the point.
“We have to stop dividing ourselves based on politics,” Rich says. “And we have to think about what have in common. You’re a dad, I’m a dad. She’s a mom, she’s a mom. I pay taxes and buy gasoline. And so do you. Our kids all go to school. We support the military. We don’t like seeing them slapped around, like what just happened in Afghanistan. We don’t like certain things. Certain things are important to us across the board, lock into those things and move as one. And that is starting to happen a little bit. I’m feeling that happening.
“Unfortunately, it’s happening at the behest of bad things,” he concludes. “But if you can manage to get through crisis situations with other people, we’ve seen it before. It does cause a lot of unity and a lot of camaraderie amongst citizens.”
Rich is back for his TV show The Pursuit! with John Rich. The show airs Wednesday nights on Fox Business.