Music is a great uniter, especially when it has a cause behind it. Apparently, so is Loretta Lynn. According to country music legends and newbies who performed at Monday night’s fundraising concert, when Miss Loretta calls you say yes.

My husband and I didn’t get a call, but we did go to “Loretta Lynn’s Hometown Rising” to benefit Tennessee’s Humphreys County flood victims. Good music and a great cause. (Read more about the concert and flood here.)

My illustration “Country Music and America” has deep meaning to me for many reasons. I grew up in a small town in rural western Tennessee. A community that helps one another. When you’re sick, they call. When you lose a loved one, they’ll give you more home-cooked meals than you can eat in a year. When you leave, they miss you. When you come back, they’re happy to see you.

You know – one of the places the media, celebrities and far left deem backward, uneducated, racist, homophobic, change allergic, Bible-believing, book burning, right wing, deplorables.

Really now. I know there are people that check those boxes in one way of another. Just like I know there are those in the media, entertainment industry and government that check those, too.

The people I grew up around were hard-working, volunteering, kind, sharing, welcoming, common-sense folk. Many were Democrats. Many served in the military. Several believed in the Bible. Some were gay. Some were not white. A few were Republican. None were book burners. One was a Point of Light during Bush Sr.’s administration. Another was a survivor of the bombing at Pearl Harbor. All experienced change when NAFTA drove the factories out of town. Many lost their livelihood, but never their dignity.

I’m proud of my roots in Rural America. As these song lyrics say, “It’s where I learned about living. It’s where I learned about love. It’s where I learned about working hard And having a little was just enough. It’s where I learned about Jesus, And knowing where I stand. You can take it or leave it, this is me. This is who I am”*

As for the celebrities, media and far left, who makes fun of us, all I can say is “Bless your heart.”