Rockers tend to be “blue state” singers, country-western artists are “red state” singers, and rappers handle our urban regions, according to veteran anchorman Tom Brokaw.
At USA Network’s national town hall “Characters Unite” Wednesday, moderator Brokaw asked Jon Bon Jovi where the artist stood on his responsibility when promoting cultural divides in pop culture.
“I’ve taken a certain point of view that I’ve always taken on … this unbridled optimism in a strange way,” Bon Jovi said before a diverse panel including Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., Politico’s Mike Allen, Newark, N.J. Mayor Cory Booker, Rep. Anh Cao, R-La., Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson, the Washington Post’s Kathleen Parker and D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
Bon Jovi said he saw himself as an ambassador for American pop culture when he traveled abroad, and he said he believed anti-American sentiment has come back again in the past decade.
His “unbridled optimism” defies borders and cultures, he said.
“They don’t see color, and I find that very interesting,” he said, reflecting on his four children. “Maybe my kids are unique, but what I’m hoping for is that the next generation are going to be much more understanding of the racial divide of the economic divide that we are living right now.”
Also spotted: former “West Wing” star Dule Hill, who is best known for his role as the president’s personal aide.
