He isn’t bothered or even touched by hatred and humiliation. He doesn’t seem to respond to love and adulation, either.
We know the names he calls people, his gaffes, the accusations and foolishness associated with this man on the international grandstand.
Last night Democrats managed to out-inept him.
Jolly Iowa, a state that sends Eureka Springs thousands of tourists every year, sticks the first thermometer into voters to take their political temperature every four years. Iowa is associated with no nonsense and lots of farmland. Iowa gave us Grant Wood, who gave us American Gothic, the painting with the pitchfork that makes us wonder why his Iowa farm couple is so unhappy.
Well, for one thing, Wood used his sister and his dentist as models.
For another, Grant Wood painted this classic in 1930, a time when despair and dislocation in America were rampant due to unforeseen circumstances.
The Roaring Twenties was a time of prosperity in America because there were many middle-and-working-class people who had jobs, homes, maybe a car. Credit was available and somewhat loose, but people were opposed of owing money, so borrowing wasn’t the shiny object it is today.
In 1930 America, the year after the stock market crash, millions of jobs simply vanished because businesses closed. There was no unemployment insurance. Naturally, when workers stopped earning money, they stopped spending money.
People adjusted to overnight poverty that was caused by one domino after another falling over. “Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without,” was a jingle on bus advertising.
Dreams cannon-balled into the river because people were broke and spooked.
People 90 years ago listened to the radio – Amos ‘n Andy, Grand Ole Opry, The Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour, baseball games, swing music. They were entertained more than informed, but we all get distracted by squirrels and Jeeps – it’s more fun than despair.
A difference between then and now is that then, everybody was in the same leaky boat.
Possessions were reduced to clothes and tools. Welfare was associated with weakness and such low character that newspapers often printed the names of those on relief. Alcoholism and suicide thrived.
In fairness, newspapers and radio stations contributed to making a bad situation worse. They competed for stories and headlines that were outrageous and loaded with fear. More readers and listeners meant more advertising, so truth was stretched or avoided.
Then the Dust Bowl. High winds, no rain, crops and livestock dying in the fields. Talk about stressful.
President Roosevelt decided to tax the wealthy up to 75 percent on their income. With that money, and a boost from the U.S. Treasury, he put people to work and they created sheer beauty. Lake Leatherwood Dam, for instance.
Today, we’re putting blame on Trump for pursuing what’s good for him and not so good for us. We’re putting blame on Democrats for buying an app caucus captains in Iowa didn’t understand? Really? Shouldn’t instruction or management be included in the purchase price? Whose idea was this?
Blame is lame. Grant Wood didn’t create unhappiness, he mirrored it.
This whole voting season makes us uneasy, but not afraid. Our right to vote depends on voting.
If that gives you the cobblywobs, whose fault is that?