Country music is an expression of the times. It comes from the heart. The generations of Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Hank Williams and their concerns are history. The world is a different place now. That doesn’t mean one generation’s music is better than the rest—just different. If today’s country music has “little true grit,” tell me what it’s like to lose a friend to AIDS and not react to Reba’s “She Thinks His Name Was John.” Take a moment to listen to the words of “The Dance” by the “blandly commercial” Garth Brooks. Have you ever attended a Garth Brooks concert and witnessed the connection that he makes with his audience?

Our battles may differ from those of the Depression and World War II, or Vietnam, but that doesn’t make them any less powerful. Country music speaks from the heart of this nation. I play country music on the radio everyday. I speak not to the corporations but to the men and women who are moved by the music Mr. Scherman dismisses.