As recent polls show that increasing numbers of young people aren’t exactly proud to be Americans, Christian recording artist Danny Gokey is hoping to “shift the way people think [about] and perceive our country” with some new patriotic music. Not only was his EP, “Brave,” written with his love of America in mind, but the 43-year-old said he believes that God inspired him to write these songs for such a time as this.
“I just love America and it saddens my heart to see so many people give really negative opinions about our country,” Mr. Gokey recently told The Washington Times’ Higher Ground. “I really believe that God inspired me to write these songs — especially ‘My America.’ [That] was the one I felt God write through me.”
Subscribe to have the Higher Ground newsletter delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
In addition to “My America,” the three-song EP includes another original song called “Brave,” and a cover of Lee Greenwood’s timeless classic “God Bless the USA.” And while the former American Idol finalist acknowledged that America, like every country, “has had a bad past,” the foundation of liberty in the United States is still worth fighting for — and celebrating.
“God created our country with a purpose,” Mr. Gokey explained. “What I like to tell people is that we must always go back to what our Constitution says. If we don’t like how our country is running, we go back to ‘we the people.’ We have the power.”
That’s especially true of Christians, who the singer said have a responsibility to be a part of the solution. And that doesn’t mean compromising on our beliefs to keep the peace — it means boldly taking a stand for faith while speaking the truth in love.
“If we’re a believer and we’re seeing a problem in our country we start saying ‘Lord, what can I do to be a part of the solution?’ And we can start praying into it… and slowly but surely encouraging others along with us on our journey [to see] that there is a solution, we can slowly turn the tide,” Mr. Gokey said.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Danny Gokey (@dannygokey)
And despite the initial fear of committing “career suicide” with such a strong patriotic message during an increasingly divided time in our country’s history, the three-time Grammy nominee hopes that his songs will cut through the noise, the hate, and the division, and encourage Americans to unite together once again.
“I think a lot of times we’re just being spoon-fed a narrative. I think media is very powerful even if we don’t recognize it. And so I think the narratives have to change,” Mr. Gokey explained. “We have to speak truth to power and speak truth to people.”
Thankfully, it seems to be working as the singer is seeing incredibly positive responses to his music.
“I do think people are waking up,” he said. “I want to see unity. I want to see people hopeful. I want to see people excited about our country because we all benefit if they are.”
“Brave” by Danny Gokey is now available everywhere music is sold.
Watch the rest of the interview below:
—
Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.