Human Overboard: My Thoughts

James and the Shame (Rhett McLaughlin) recently released a country music album titled “Human Overboard”, with 11 songs that share different aspects of his personal deconstruction story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVkdI7gZ0gU This is a link to an episode of their (Rhett and Link’s) podcast, Ear Biscuits, in which Rhett and Link discuss the album. I’ve written a previous article* about the first song, “Believe Me”, but since the album’s release I have been listening to many of the songs repeatedly. (Note: I’ll be writing about 10 of the 11 songs on the album; “Kill A Man” is the one I would’ve liked Rhett to elaborate on more, and it’s the one I feel least sure of to really write much about here. I like it being included in the album but it’s not one I feel equipped to write about here so this blog post will focus on the other 10 songs which are more straightforward to me.)

*https://briannathehugger.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=1360&action=edit If you’re interested in that article, here is the link for it

1. Family/Relationships The first songs I want to write about are “Sorry” (written to his parents), “Creek and Back” (written to his kids), and “Where We’re Going” (written to his wife). All of these are very emotional songs, and I think show the complexity of changes or transitions (of any kind – with faith or otherwise) within relationships. As someone who is still Christian but has deconstructed (and is still deconstructing), there is so much I’m either uncertain of or flat out completely disagree with now. I’m sure that for some people, if they knew all of my deepest thoughts and feelings and opinions, they would believe I’m going to hell, that I’m not truly a Christian and maybe that I never truly was. I tend to be pretty open about my beliefs, but there are some things I only talk about with very trusted and non-judgmental people because the reality of what some people may think or say is too painful for me to be totally honest with them. I’m not saying I lie about my beliefs with these people – but I’m careful with how much I disclose. Not everyone needs to know everything, and I’m learning that’s okay.
2. Personal Processing “Believe Me”, “Only Thing”, “Give A Damn”, “Flash Of Rationality”, and “Old Letters” are relatable for me. While some things aren’t really in my nature (like the line from Flash of Rationality about putting a lot of books in my cart but not finishing if I think I’ve got the gist – I’m not much of a reader, but when I do read, I like to finish the whole book), the main theme of these songs – about wanting people to trust and believe my lived experiences, about openly saying there’s so much I don’t know and can’t know, about caring so much and giving a damn so much (sometimes wishing I didn’t), about thinking I know the nature of God & about certainty I used to have that I sometimes now still crave – is deeply relatable and personal for me. I love what Rhett put into words in these particular songs.
3. To The Church The last two songs I want to write about are “In Vain” and “Fruit”. I love the whole album and it’s incredibly difficult to choose a favorite song, but these are definitely up there as two of my favorites. In the podcast episode in which Rhett talked about each of the songs on the album, one thing he mentioned when talking about these two songs was the conservative evangelical Christian support of Donald Trump. This is something that has frustrated me for so long. I’ve said before that if Jesus were alive in the flesh on earth today and spoke up against Trump, there would undoubtedly be people who claim to be Christians who would still side with Trump. There is not a doubt in my mind that that would happen. I have frustrations with the left and with moderates too, but with the political & religious right – and ESPECIALLY with Trump supporters – I feel a lot of anger. I feel betrayed that so many people who taught me to care for “the least of these”, to love marginalized & vulnerable & oppressed people, now have full-blown support of Donald Trump. So many people who instilled in me the value of following Jesus at all costs no matter what, have decided they’d rather make Trump their god and judge me for doing exactly what they taught me to do – follow Jesus. Trump and Jesus are undeniably antithetical to one another, and I am unapologetically choosing Jesus. I choose love: loving LGBTQ+ people, loving people living in poverty, loving BIPOC, loving non-Christians, loving foreigners & orphans & widows, loving disabled & chronically ill & neurodivergent people; loving everyone who the church shuns, because I believe love is the most important thing. I used to feel like I needed all sorts of disclaimers and caveats to fully love people fundamentally different from me. Now? I can simply love them, freely and without explanation. I don’t need to justify loving people as they are. I can simply love them. And while deconstruction (and reconstruction) has involved a lot of grief and trauma, the freedom to love fully and freely has been one of the most beautiful parts of my life. I am grateful beyond what words can truly convey for this gift of being able to love people with reckless abandon. I don’t need to explain why I love people; I can just love them, full stop.

And I feel like this album, “Human Overboard”, really represents all of that for me. There is so much complexity and nuance to one’s faith journey; but for me, I believe my guide has always been love, and I’m realizing that as my faith has shifted and continues to shift, love is still my guide. It is the one thing I can continually come back to. It is intrinsic to me, and I don’t take that for granted.

Thank you, Rhett, sincerely, for this piece of art & humanity you’ve shared with the world. It is beautiful and moving and so deeply meaningful for myself and countless other people. I’m grateful for you and proud of you. I appreciate who you are. Thank you for not just what you do, but simply for being who you are.