As Nick Arama recently reported, Anthony cleared the air about who his songs are intended for. At first, there was some confusion because Anthony said it was about the very people on the GOP debate stage while saying it wasn't about President Joe Biden, but then clarified later that he didn't mean Biden specifically. It was about the "Rich Men North of Richmond" and the culture they create. 

That means left and right are guilty. He doesn't see himself as a Republican or a Democrat. In fact, he sees himself as someone who is politically homeless. He's not viewing things through the lens of left and right, just right and wrong: 

"Biden is a big part of the issue, but it runs much deeper," Anthony said. "'Rich Men North of Richmond' is about corporate owned DC politicians on both sides. Though Biden's most certainly a problem, the lyrics aren't exclusively knocking Biden, it's bigger and broader than that. It's knocking the system collectively. Including the corporate owned conservative polticans [sic] that were on stage that night."

For many in today's day and age, this might be difficult to understand. I can already hear the arguments. 

"Of course, he belongs to one side! Look at what he's singing about. Look at the issues he's bringing up! He's one of ours!"

While anyone else might be accused of just trying to play to both sides to sell his music, Anthony has proven himself to be a different kind of creature. He seems very adamant that his newfound fame doesn't change him into something he doesn't recognize and he has yet to embrace a record label, and so far it seems he might never. 

This makes Anthony something of a different beast than we're used to seeing...or maybe he's a lot more common than we think, we just never hear about people like him. 

One thing I can tell you about Americans is that they all have an opinion about one thing or another and many aren't afraid to tell you what that opinion is. However, one thing that I hear more than anything in regular conversations is that the individual doesn't really like either American political party. In fact, they seem to show open disdain for specific members of both parties equally, and only vote for one or the other because they have to. 

Then there are the others who think it's all screwed and refuse to vote at all because they're pretty sure their vote doesn't even count. At the end of the day, however, they don't claim one political identity or another. 

While this might frustrate some, I can't help but feel like this is a very healthy attitude to have, especially as the lines between Republicans and Democrats sometimes blur and decisions are made that make no sense in terms of how our nation is being run. 

Not belonging to any one party allows for your beliefs to guide your vote, not some unearned loyalty. I think it's a good thing to remember that even if you call yourself a Republican or a Democrat, that party still has to work to earn your vote with every election. They should never feel safe. 

In the world of politics, we can inadvertently find ourselves rooted in one party due to a number of factors, spite and anger not being the least of these. In doing so, we tend to become defensive of people or politicians we shouldn't be, or turn our nose up against the wrongs of our own side so as not to give ammo to the opposition. 

Politics is filled to the brim with that kind of hypocrisy, and it can really threaten to infect us all with it. 

I think Anthony's disdain for and refusal to identify with both parties isn't something he should be looked down on. Not only do I think it's a healthy state of mind to be in, I think it's incredibly common.