Pluralism Hero: Bruce Springsteen

June 2, 2026

UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 11: REDBANK Photo of Bruce SPRINGSTEEN, Bruce Springsteen performing on stage - Born to Run Tour, 27 (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)

Bruce Springsteen calls his musical career “a long and noisy prayer” not ultimately about discovering himself, but about understanding the people around him.

Think about the various characters Springsteen conjures in his songs. He sees the decent cop who lets his criminal brother escape; the ex-con trying to walk the straight line; the returned Vietnam Vet seething in the “Darkness on the Edge of Town”; Tom Joad as a Mexican migrant worker; the high school hero in late middle age; the innocent West African immigrant who gets shot 41 times because of the color of his American Skin.

He sings these songs in such a way that we not only identify with the characters we like and resemble, but we also learn something about the ones we dislike and consider alien. 

If Bruce Springsteen didn’t exist, America would have to create him because he is so essential to our national identity.

And you know what story Springsteen chooses to tell? That if you didn’t exist, America would have to create you. Because the distinguishing feature of American identity is that it regards each person on this sacred ground to be essential.

The magic trick that Bruce Springsteen performs is making this random assortment of individuals feel like a nation.

The magic trick that Bruce Springsteen performs is making this random assortment of individuals feel like a nation. That’s what makes him a pluralism hero. His music shows us that America is not built by flattening differences into a melting pot. America is a potluck. A sing-along, not a solo. An improvisational jazz show, not a strictly ordered symphony. 

If our people, in all their motley variety, do not contribute, then the nation does not feast.

Eboo Patel

Eboo Patel is a civic leader, speaker, and author advancing the notion that diversity is a treasure and cooperation across our difference is the key for everybody to thrive. Recognized as “one of America’s best leaders” by U.S. News and World Report, he is the Founder and President of Interfaith America, the nation’s leading interfaith organization.

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Eboo Patel

Interfaith America seeks contributions that present a wide range of experiences and perspectives from a diverse set of worldviews on the opportunities and challenges of American pluralism. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Interfaith America, its board of directors, or its employees.

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