The Springsteen Paradox

From the stage, the Boss has become one of the fiercest, most eloquent critics of the MAGA movement. But among the crowd, the view from the seats tells a more complicated story about America.

- By Mitchell S. Jackson

Bruce Springsteen kicking off his Land of Hope & Dreams American Tour in Minneapolis on March 31.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN—MAN, MYTH, rock demigod—materializes at a mic as if beamed to it from beyond the clouds, drawing thunderous applause from the sold-out crowd in Phoenix’s Mortgage Matchup Center.

Springsteen is decked in a pinstripe shirt and a tie beneath a vest and slim jeans and has traded his once-standard rocker boots for a pair of big-soled running shoes. He’s backed by a 19-member version of the E Street Band, whose ranks tonight include guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, a catalyst for this tour. Before strumming a single note on his Telecaster, he dives into his first monologue of this “political” show:

We are here in celebration and defense of our American ideas. Democracy, our Constitution, and our sacred American promise. The America that I love. The America that I’ve written about for 50 years and has been a beacon of hope and liberty . . . is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent, racist, reckless, and treasonous administration. Tonight, we ask all of you to join with us in choosing hope over fear; democracy over authoritarianism; the rule of law over lawlessness; ethics over unbridled corruption; resistance over complacency; truth over lies; unity over division; and peace over war.