The Long Way Home 11.01.24

As I sit here to write this column, I am fully aware that I place myself squarely on Trump’s list of enemies within, and I am unreservedly accepting of that fact. Not only am I a dabbling journalist, which he hates, but I wouldn’t support the man if he were running for dog catcher.

It's disheartening to think that some people I know, people I respect, who are decent, and some who I love, are voting for a self-promoting huckster who, after serving a full four-year term as President, refused to leave office with the decency and respect that office deserves. Over those four years, after promising to fix all the ills of America, he failed to resolve any, and we, the people, made our rejection of him clear.

It's baffling that some still cling to the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. How can they reconcile this with the fact that a Democratic cabal, supposedly efficient enough to rig the presidential election, couldn't manage to secure a majority in the House and Senate? It's a narrative that simply doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.

That Trump gets serious national media coverage is enough to make me despair. That Republican officeholders Poo Poo Trump’s harsh rhetoric, the kind of rhetoric the entire Republican party would have condemned and denounced in the not-so-distant past, is a sad commentary on our politics.

In recent days, Trump referred to the country where I was born, raised, and prospered as the world’s garbage can. 

He insulted the city of Detroit twice in two weeks while speaking to groups there. Has Detroit been through tough times over the past twenty years? Certainly. Is it a failed city in a failing nation? No way.

I’ve lived in a few cities and visited a fair number more. Every city or town has neighborhoods where you don’t want to go alone or after dark. But not one is overtaken by roving gangs of thugs from this country or anywhere else. 

In 1966, a time filled with turmoil in ways that make life today seem like a walk in the park, Buffalo Springfield had a hit song called “For What It’s Worth.” Its lyrics include, “Paranoia strikes deep, Into your life it will creep, It starts when you’re always afraid.”

Trump and his political organization have, with unbelievable effect, convinced people that they should be afraid. Paranoia has crept in. With little evidence, Trump supporters, many of whom are doing quite well in life, think the worst of their friends and neighbors.

After four years with a Democratic president, the economy in our great country is doing quite well. 

This summer and fall, the major stock indices, a popular measure of economic well-being, have set record highs. That only happens when investors see that things are well, that businesses are growing, and that the future for continuing growth looks bright.

But it’s not just the stock market. Inflation is down, and unemployment is low. 

Concerts and music festivals are crowded, almost overcrowded, with adoring and partying fans. None of them seem fearful, and they have spent much of their take-home pay for the privilege of being at the show. 

Football stadiums are packed. Again, fans are dropping significant amounts of money for the freedom to attend the games of their favorite college or pro teams. Seeing them on television shows them safe and happy, not fearful.

Baseball, basketball, and hockey all have rabid fans attending games. With ticket prices near $100 a seat, fans must be doing well financially to be able to attend.

In Cook County, the North Shore tourist mecca, more than one million visitors leave money with us each year, and this season was no exception. 

Lodging establishments were filled with guests paying a few hundred dollars per night. Those guests were filling local restaurants, dropping $20-$50 a head or more for a North Shore meal. 

Campgrounds, state, federal, and private, were turning people away. The BWCAW entries were strong. 

House sellers and realtors in Cook County benefited from an influx of newly retired folks who sold the family home in Golden Valley and bought a lake home for more than the $440,000 median home price here.

My point, and I do have one, is that our great country is not in decline. Over the last four years, we have made significant progress economically and socially. There's still work to be done, but our future is bright. 

Is there more to do? Always. 

But you can add my name to Trump’s list of enemies within and feel like you’ve done your part for paranoia. I deserve it.