What Jason Aldean of 'Try That In A Small Town' fame can learn from small town of Stuart

Country music star Jason Aldean has earned fame ― or infamy, depending on your perspective ― for singing about life in small towns. And now he's living at least part time in Stuart, one of our small towns along the Treasure Coast.

There might be a teachable moment in this somewhere.

As you may have heard, Aldean's song, "Try That In A Small Town," recently hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs list. In it, Aldean sings about how residents of small towns live upright lives and don't put up with any nonsense, even if they must use the threat of violence to keep order.

The song's lyrics, though a bit jarring, weren't as controversial as the video released last month, featuring images of riots and protests juxtaposed with Aldean performing in front of a Tennessee courthouse once linked to the lynching of a Black man. The video attracted a firestorm of criticism, prompting Country Music Television to stop airing it.

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What small-town values really mean

For his part, Aldean has said the song's fundamental message is being misunderstood.

"When u grow up in a small town, it's that unspoken rule of 'we all have each other's backs and we look out for each other,' " Aldean said in an Instagram post ahead of the video's release. "It feels like somewhere along the way, that sense of community and respect has gotten lost. Deep down, we are all ready to get back to that."

Aldean quietly purchased a 7,317-square-foot home on Hutchinson Island last year for $10.2 million, according to TCPalm reporter Gianna Montesano.

If he was looking for a community that exemplifies small-town values, Stuart may be just the right place for him.

The Sailfish Capital of the World offers at least some of the idyllic experiences Aldean has portrayed in his songs, including not only the most recent hit, but others like "Hicktown," "Flyover States" and "Tattoos on This Town."

Country music, in general, is a genre by and for people who prefer to avoid the stresses of big-city life. Which describes a lot of Stuart residents who have relocated from New York, Miami or other congested towns to the north or south.

People here still speak of "the Martin County difference," which is often defined as a slower approach to growth and development.

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Stuart's not perfect, but it's pretty darned good

There's a strong sense of local pride here, as exemplified a couple of years ago when residents gathered around their TVs to cheer the Martin County North team in the Little League World Series.

And Stuart is certainly a place where the Aldeans can feel at home with their conservative beliefs, which they've expressed publicly in the past. Republicans outnumber Democrats in Martin County more than 2-to-1, according to the voter registration totals on the supervisor of elections website.

The lyrics of "Try That In A Small Town" decry big-city assaults, carjackings, liquor store robberies and people spitting in police officers' faces ― all rarities in Stuart.

Not that Stuart's 18,000-plus residents live in complete bliss. The years-long debate over a major development that will include apartments and a Costco store divided many in the community. The Roosevelt Bridge is a popular spot for community protests of various types.

Racial harmony is still a work in progress here, too. This year began with racial and sexually explicit vandalism being discovered at Martin Downs Golf Club, which is owned by a Black man.

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Doing the right thing for the right reasons

However, what really doesn't track in Stuart is the song's emphasis on vigilante justice ("full of good ol' boys, raised up right") as a tool to maintain order.

Stuart is a town that recently received a multimillion-dollar legal settlement from 3M because the former public works and utilities director was too honest to simply dilute polluted water until it was considered safe to drink.

After a group of Hidden Oaks Middle School students got into trouble last year for posing in a photo to spell a racial slur, they issued a public apology, with one of them appearing personally at a community rally to show his remorse.

Traits like honesty and personal responsibility are valued here for their own sake, not because people are worried about their neighbors rounding up a posse and beating them into submission if they get out of line.

To use a religious example, it's the difference between following Christian values because you believe it's the right way live, as opposed to trying to avoid an afterlife filled with hellfire and brimstone.

Why we 'take care of our own' here

Stuart is, as Aldean's song suggests, a place where people "take care of their own." They do so out of love and respect for their neighbors. At least, I think most of them do.

I can't think of a better example of this than Confusion Corner, the spot downtown where Colorado Avenue, Flagler Street, Dixie Highway (A1A) and Ocean Boulevard all converge with the Florida East Coast Railway.

As the name suggests, it's as confounding an intersection as you'll find anywhere, yet residents have fought against "improving" it for decades.

When I spoke with former Stuart News editor Tom Weber a few days ago, he offered an interesting theory on why confusion is allowed to reign there.

"It was kind of a test for people who were new to town," Weber told me. "If people can't handle that, they probably don't belong here. We need people who are a little more easygoing."

Those are words Aldean and others who share his beliefs about small towns might want to consider.

This column reflects the opinion of Blake Fontenay. Contact him via email at bfontenay@gannett.com or at 772-232-5424.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Maybe singer Jason Aldean will discover new small-town vibe in Stuart