Guitarist and singer Joe Horn |
A liberty-loving musician has a powerful message for tea-party patriots: Stop waiting for a hero to come fix America, and use your own gifts to fight for the nation's freedom.
Joe Horn, award-winning guitarist and co-host of Raiders Live! News Talk Radio, told WND he recorded his new hit song, "Freedom," when he became deeply concerned about the political climate in the United States.
He said his music video, posted below, is free for download "to anybody who wants to use it in any way that is for the cause of liberty and freedom."
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Horn said he found himself terribly burdened one day last year while sitting at his computer. He thought about his daughters, ages 1 and 4, and what life may be like for them when they grow up.
"I was staying informed and trying really hard to cope with this idea that my children are faced with the threat that they may not have the same freedoms that I've enjoyed in my life," he explained.
'Why aren't you fighting for me?'
At that moment, Horn had an epiphany.
In his mind's eye, he saw his little girl approach him and ask, "Daddy, whatcha doin'?"
In the daydream, he responded, "Run along now honey. Go play in your room. Daddy's relaxing right now."
The child asked, "How come, Daddy?" And Horn saw himself replying, "Daddy's tired right now. Run along."
All the while, Horn was thinking about his daughters' future.
Horn's daughter, Kate, stars in 'Freedom' music video |
He wondered, would they grow up free? Would they have the same opportunities he had in life and be allowed to pursue their dreams?
Or would they be buried in debt as a result of poor government policies and told how to live and what kind of health care to obtain?
Would they be free to share their opinions, or would those ideas be censored by the government?
Would they work longer hours for less reward and never experience the genuine gift of liberty?
Then Horn began to feel a deep sense of guilt.
"I started to feel this guilt and this responsibility because here's this little 4-year-old, and she's trusting me to do something for her life," he said. "And I'm sitting on my butt enjoying whatever is left of this great republic that our founders gave everything to create for us. Now it's my turn, and what am I doing?"
Then, in his vision, Horn's daughter surprised him by asking, "Daddy, why aren't you fighting for me? Why aren't you fighting for my future while there's still time?"
That mental picture overwhelmed Horn, and he began to weep uncontrollably.
Author and musician Allie Anderson, 35, Horn's sister, told WND, "I was becoming so worried about him. He was fighting with something on a new level, and I had never seen him fight like this before. He was in the darkest place I've ever known him to be, and I was so powerless."
Horn explained, "It was the sorrow at the very thought that my kids would inherit something much less than they could have, and it was a result of my lack of action, my lethargy."
Tea-party movement for performers
It was a turning point for Horn. What came out of that moment was a sudden decision to act. He felt he had to do something.
"I decided there and then that instead of focusing on all the things I couldn't do, I would look at what I do have to offer," he explained. "So, I started writing the song 'Freedom.' The mood of that song came from that moment."
Anderson met with Horn and helped him compile the lyrics for "Freedom."
"When he started talking about his concern for his daughter's future, I saw a new light in his eyes," she explained. "He had finally figured out how to channel what he was feeling. It was into his music."
Now Horn and his family have launched Artist Expressway, a website that allows artists to contribute to a tea-party movement for performers. Now freedom-loving musicians, actors, dancers, filmmakers, photographers, graphics artists, comedians and writers are invited to join the cause. Membership in the Artist Expressway community is free.
"It will be a place where artists can network, people who are liberty-loving musicians, artists, interpretive dancers, stand-up comedians, basically anyone who has a talent and wants to use it in the fight for freedom," he said.
Horn said he is just getting started with his plans to inspire Americans to take their country back. He plans to release his newest album – with the theme "God, family, country" – by the November election.
"We decided to reveal the video before the album's release because, with the tea-party movement and the passage of Obamacare, we really felt the time is now instead of waiting until the end of the album," he explained. "The intention with this song is to capture the mood of the tea-party people. Thank God for the efforts of the tea partiers."
As for the epiphany Horn experienced, he said, "I'm encouraged more this year than I was a year ago. I was wondering a year ago if there would be an awakening. Now it really feels like there is. We want to be a part of that. We want to use our gifts in this fight for freedom."
Horn said Americans must figure out what they have to contribute to the cause of freedom and "get busy."
"If not us, who? If not now, when?" he asked. "It's as simple as that. People have got to stop waiting for a hero to come and fix all of this."