Howard Owens at Blogcritics.org:
Johnny Cash is such a complete man. He is the prototypical all-American male. He out John Waynes John Wayne, is more rugged than Clint Eastwood, has more class than Frank Sinatra, makes Ronald Reagan look like a flag burner, cares for the downtrodden and exploited more than Michael Moore and is no less faithful than Billy Graham.
He is a complete and purely American character because he is a ball of contradictions. He is patriotic, but protests war and won’t forget his country’s faults; he supports law and order, but entertains prisoners; he is God-fearing, but has abused his body and drifted and strayed; he is an artist, but for most of his career has preferred simplicity over ornament; he doesn’t give a damn about what you think about him, but has carefully crafted his own image; and, for a man who has spent his life in the adoration of the stage light, he is humble and polite to the people he meets.