Andy Gipson’s Muslim rhetoric doesn’t match the Woodie Guthrie classic he sings

By Bobby Harrison | Originally published by Mississippi Today

Andy Gipson, Republican agriculture commissioner and gubernatorial candidate, sings a Woody Guthrie song on his latest compact disc – “God Bless America!”

Gipson, who is also a part-time country crooner and a Baptist minister, belts out Guthrie’s iconic song “This Land Is Your Land.” The decision of Gipson to include folk legend Guthrie’s song amongst his patriotic collection of music is of note considering his recent comments about Muslim Americans.

Not long after social media expressed outrage as only social media can do that the tiny Delta town of Benoit had appointed Assama Ali, an American citizen lawyer and Mulsim, to serve as municipal judge, Gipson weighed in multiple times on the topic while never mentioning her by name.

Gibson went to social media to renew his call to ban Sharia law, which provides the moral and religious guidelines for many Muslims. He didn’t mention that no one is trying to enact Sharia Law in the American judicial system and that the Mississippi Legislature passed a bill in 2015 when Gipson was a member to ban Sharia law from the state judicial system and that he voted for the proposal.

In his social media posts, Gipson didn’t acknowledge that Assama Ali was a fellow graduate of the Mississippi College School of Law, now known as Mississippi Christian University, and was a licensed attorney in the state of Mississippi who as a judge had the duty to uphold state laws.  

Instead, he stated on social media “If you are among those who think Sharia law is not an issue in Mississippi, you’d better think again.”

He then asked, “But did you know that in our own capital city, in Mississippi, there is a Center for Muslim Culture at the Planetarium in Jackson? Billed by its founders as the first Muslim Museum in America, it includes displays complete with this exhibit featuring Muhammed as ‘The Messenger.’”

Gipson who served as an attorney in a prominent Jackson law firm went on to pledge on social media, “I will defend our Constitution and our Christian values.”

As a Baptist minister, no doubt, Gipson has often proclaimed Jesus Christ as the savior and one true way to heaven. No doubt, the United States Constitution defends Gipson’s right to make that proclamation. Does it not defend Muslims’ rights to their proclamation?

The social media posts beg the question of whether Gipson was comprehending the lyrics he sang in the Woodie Guthrie classic.

     This land is your land, this land is my land
     From California to the New York island,
     From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters;
     This land was made for you and me.

When Gipson sang “for you and me,” did he not mean for “you” to be all inclusive?

According to various sources, Guthrie wrote this song as a critical response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” which he believed did not paint a true picture of America. Guthrie had been “roaming” the country seeing the pain and suffering of the 1930s’ Depression era.

Two verses, known as the lost verses, depict that pain and suffering and what many saw as the unfairness of the country.

Not surprisingly, Gipson did not include the two “lost” verses in his rendition of “This Land Is Your Land.”

In fairness to Gipson, Guthrie’s recording of the song during World War II also did not include the two verses. Many speculate that the omission was made to limit criticism of the country during war time.

But surprisingly, Gipson also chose not to include the rousing final verse of “This Lsnd Is Your Land” in his version.

     Nobody living can ever stop me,
     As I go walking that freedom highway;
     Nobody living can ever make me turn back
     This land was made for you and me.

The phrase “freedom highway,” penned by Guthrie, later became the title of an album and song by the Mississippi-rooted Staple Singers written for the historic 1965 Selma to Montgomery march for voting rights for Black Americans. The song references the violence of the Civil Rights era, including the murder of Black teenager Emmett Till by white men for allegedly flirting with a white woman.

That Staple Singers song, also covered by the North Mississippi Allstars, asks a critical question.

     March the freedom highway 
     March each and every day 
     March the freedom highway 
     March each and every day 
     Made up my mind, and I won't turn around 
     Made up my mind, and I won't turn around 
     There is just one thing 
     I can't understand, my friend
     Why some folks think freedom 
     Is not designed for all men

---

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article