In Search of Common Ground: 'Fast Car' and 'He Gets Us'
This past month was full of stories — some giving us hope, others sparking controversy. In light of these narratives, we were inspired to reflect on how we see them impacting our culture and conversations.
“Maybe we saw that our troubles and dreams can connect us, how much more we could accomplish together. And maybe the politics and other divisions faded – at least for those few moments.”
Finding Common Ground through ‘Fast Car’
We were encouraged by the response to the surprise appearance of Tracy Chapman at the Grammys singing her hit Fast Car with Luke Combs, whose remake Combs rode to the top of the chart to a Grammy nomination without changing a lyric. The song was released before Combs was born, but became for him an anthem as a young man yearning for a better life and future for himself. Tracy Chapman’s song was largely autobiographical, and she has not performed in the public eye for decades. A rural white man and an urban black woman singing as soul mates to the universal desire for a better life was a rare moment to celebrate when the urban/rural split has instead defined our red/blue disagreements regarding the good life. “But a Black woman and a white man sang together about people down on their luck and dreaming of better lives,” wrote Jim Sergent in USA Today. “Maybe we saw that our troubles and dreams can connect us, how much more we could accomplish together. And maybe the politics and other divisions faded – at least for those few moments.”
Responses to ‘He Gets Us:’ A Lack of Common Grace?
We were not surprised, however, at the controversy over the He Gets Us ads during the Superbowl. The first spot, “Footwashing” was made up of a series of still images portraying people who might otherwise be at odds with one another, one foot washing the other. This is taken from the accounts in the Gospels of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, an act of service and humility. The second was a series of close ups on faces answering the question “Who is my neighbor?” the question Jesus was asked by the Pharisees, which he answered with The Parable of the Good Samaritan. Both ads were attacked by the right and the left.
The right claimed they were presenting a woke gospel. Charlie Kirk wrote on X, “The He Gets Us ad is intentionally provocative trying to counter-message the conservative church and attract people they feel are turned off to Jesus.” Some pastors were also in agreement. Bambrick of Hope Church tweeted: “[He Get Us] failed to convey anything of the gospel to the hundreds of millions who saw it.” Bambrik created an alternative video with the tag #HeSavesUs, focusing on how Jesus transforms lives and addresses his concern (common for his tribe) that the ads might leave viewers to think that Jesus affirms the lifestyles and choices portrayed in the ads.
While ‘He Gets Us’ may be ‘too woke’ for the right, the left suggested the commercial was an effort to “put lipstick on a pig,” many labeling it as part of a right-wing political agenda due to its backing from The Signatry and the Green (Hobby Lobby) family. Chrissy Stroop from Open Democracy writes, “He Gets Us is part of a conservative evangelical initiative, serving conservative evangelical goals.”
The campaign doesn’t shy away from admitting their agenda: “to rediscover the love story of Jesus. Christians, non-Christians, and everybody in between. All of us.”
Is it a cover for ‘wokeness’? Or for a right-wing agenda?
Our take? We were glad for the controversy and hope that, as a result, more people will take the time to watch the videos again. If so, maybe they will encounter the heart of the True Gospel that was expressed by both of Jesus’ actions and teachings which, by the way, were pretty controversial at the time as well.