This song is a reflection on American idealism and nationalism.

The central tenet of de Gaulle’s Gaullism was the “certain idea” of France. The ideal. The image. America is a country entrenched in idealism and its own fractured identity. The entire concept of the American Dream is the “certain idea” of America. The American Gaullist is someone so desperate to cling to this identity and idealism that they themselves become a fractured version of who they are, isolated and angry at a dream that doesn’t exist but that they can’t let go of. It’s the weight of an old world and a decaying future used against us. Used to separate us. Used to stop us from demanding more, and from demanding the rubble be used to build us a future we can believe in.

It’s only through our commitment to each other that we’re stronger.

This song was written in April 2020. It was recorded by Bad Optics in a small practice space in Lynwood, WA in Jan. 2021.

American Gaullist is the second single from Bad Optics upcoming full length Pax Americana, out everywhere Jan 21st. 2022.

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