Giving Others Strength to Speak up: John Ondrasik

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This is the 30 minute TV version of Jan Jekielek’s interview with John Ondrasik. The longer-form version was released on Epoch TV on July 25, 2024.

John Ondrasik, also known by his stage name, Five for Fighting, is a Grammy-nominated recording artist who released several number-one hits in the early 2000s, including his single, “Superman,” which became widely known as a 9/11 anthem.

“You know, silent majorities become silent minorities if nobody speaks up,“ he says. ”For me, making a record was really how you made a statement.”

0:00:00 – 0:03:29 The Impact of Superman and the Power of Music
0:03:52 – 0:07:07 The Origins of Five For Fighting and Moral Messaging
0:07:12 – 0:09:12 Navigating Cancel Culture and Supporting the Military
0:09:31 – 0:11:55 The Critical Role of the Arts in Changing Culture
0:19:20 – 0:22:04 Performing in Ukraine and the Hostage Square Experience
0:22:10 – 0:22:41 Final Thoughts and Appreciation

Jan Jekielek talks to John Ondrasik about his songs and how his music took him to war-torn Ukraine and Israel.

Ondrasik is back in the spotlight for his songs about the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel.

“One thing that I think folks don’t realize, especially on the right, is how critical the arts are to changing culture”, Ondrasik says.

“I look at myself as, in some weird way, as a modern day kind of protest songwriter, which I never aspired to, But seeing some of the response to our culture to these issues, and seeing the fact that many in the music business, particularly with Israel, have historically shamed our industry for all time because they’re afraid to speak out with common sense, with moral clarity, I think that also gives me some energy to to say something, because so many are not.”

According to Ondrasik, “what we’re trying to do through the arts is critical in this civilizational culture war. And that’s really what it is. It’s not Hamas versus Israel. It’s civilization against those who want to tear it down.”

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