Now that the elections are over and nothing can be done about that, I’ll make my political statement. The first thing I want to say is Ahhhhh!
Pundits ask what happened and try to answer their own question. As a small-town boy, here’s what I see. First, the middle class didn’t disappear. They were repositioned downward. Too many of our poor, rural, uneducated, semi-skilled, predominately white citizens are having trouble finding work, education, and affordable health care; Washington hasn’t seemed to notice.
Yes, we’ve made great advances in equalizing opportunity for gays and minorities, and legalizing weed, but that doesn’t help small-town white America. I make long annual treks back to my roots, and I can tell you that most folks are indifferent to these issues. Those with opposing views who see gay marriage as yucky and pot-smoking as detrimental aren’t helped much by the solutions. It doesn’t put food on their tables or pills in their medicine chests. People want jobs and opportunity.
Main Streets in many small towns still look like the 1950s, or whatever decade you grew up there. The buildings are the same, even if the businesses are corporate and the cash flows out of town. It’s easy to maintain a 1950s mindset, back when local businessmen thrived and industry was king. It’s easy to miss those Member Berries. Now industrious folks are left bussing tables or showing wealthier tourists where to fish. The less industrious are collecting public assistance checks.
When The Don says I will restore the middle class by bringing back industry to small towns, people cheer. When he says he’ll bring back coal and steel, people cheer. When he says he will rid Washington of the greedy and self-serving, people cheer. They don’t understand that draining the swamp means removing the water and leaving the crocodiles.
Having Republicans obstruct government for eight years to disgrace Obama has had its impact. People are much angrier today, worse off, and many blame Obama. Having the DNC short-sheet Bernie Sanders’ chances to win the nomination drained much of the passion from the democratic movement.
In small towns it’s easy to vote. You don’t need a bus ride and a vacation day off at a non-union job. Small town polling booths are within walking distance, uncrowded, and manned by neighbors. If you’re unemployed you have plenty of time to cast your ballot and grab a coffee.
What’s really happening is that small-town America is dwindling due to natural forces, not by evil intent. It’s too expensive to have a million small towns duplicating governments, police forces, hospitals, and schools, not to mention the cost of shipping in goods and services, especially when there is no product coming out due to metropolitan consolidation of labor.
We no longer need economically to have small towns dotted every 20 miles across the American landscape. Industry, education, and housing have moved to the big city.
There is a most excellent — stop and watch it on your cellphone — 28-second video on YouTube that shows how slime mold grows in a Petrie dish. Search the words “slime mold Japanese.” This experiment enabled slime mold, in one day, to recreate the Japanese rail system, famous for its efficiency and years in the designing. Shift the subtext. Imagine the slime mold as Christopher Columbus and the pilgrims, the dish as the USA, the oatmeal flecks as major cities, and the remaining region as our small towns. In time-lapse, watch what happens.
This doesn’t mean small towns have gone away, only that they are suffering. Residents born and raised in the same rural town as their parents are unlikely to give up their homesteads and move to the big city for a trend. Home is home and they are entrenched. They have little money but a big house surrounded by open land and dear friends. That – community, unity, and sovereignty — is something worth fighting for.
The children of rural families, however, once they’ve had a taste of metropolitan university education — if they are so fortunate — often don’t move back home, so the small-town population is ever diminishing in the percentage of the college educated.
And folks know Donald Trump. He’s warmed their television screens for many years. He made a buck, and he fires the incompetent. He’s almost like a friend, and friends keep their promises. If he says he’s going to fix things, then he’s going to fix them, and he can cuss all he wants. He got through to rural people beyond the cerebral level. He was heart felt, if not heartfelt.
Many of my Ridgway friends are Trump supporters, and nary a one is a racist, misogynist or a bigot. Trump speaks to their needs. For some Trump is George explaining the farm to Lennie. However, my business-owner friends are his strongest supporters. I know a used-appliance dealer, a locksmith, a bar owner, and three in construction who are more angry about the lousy local job pool of lazy strung-out bath salts abusers who don’t come to work on Mondays or Fridays and goof off when the cat’s away, and insurance premium increases due to workman’s compensation cheats, than they are about the headier issues of marriage equality and racial justice.
People are out of work, escapism is on the rise, and employers can’t find decent employees. It’s a big deal. They’ve hitched their wagon to a star.
You know who I blame in this turn of events? The Republicans, the Democrats, the apathetic, and those pesky independents.
Steve Gibbs is a retired Benicia High School teacher who has written a column for The Herald since 1985.
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Once people realize the globalism isn’t going to work the’y’ll run back to those small towns. The ones you think are full of old pill popping people. It’s history that teaches us the lesson .
A very good column and your conclusion that BOTH parties have failed us impossible to refute. For a very long time polls showed that people were concerned about the direction the country. Consequently, It really is no surprise that an outsider was selected. .The one point I’d like to take exception to in your column was that the Republicans for 8 years obstructed the President. For 2 years he and the Democratic party had complete control and THAT is how we got Obamacare. And in the end THAT may have been the deciding factor in how we got Mr. Trump.
Sorry you cannot blame everyone. Progress has brought us to where we are. I do not want to go backwards. That is exactly what the Democrats wanted. Complete control of your thinking, money. religion, personal ideals and most of all the entire country. California is not a good example of how America is. I have travelled the USA from top to bottom. I have been able to get a feeling of how Americans think. They think exactly how President elect Trump does. Not at all like Hillary or Socialist Bernie thinks. Tell me why the people elected 70% of the governors, 70% of the state houses, control of the Senate and the House which are all controlled by Republicans. Only because they saw what the Democrats were doing to them. Legislating their lives. Guess what they did not like it. I have traveled those rust belt areas. There question has always been why not help us. Put some money into making coal burn clean, build that pipeline and use the resources we have and make them productive and clean. No the Democrats wanted to tell them you needed solar and a hybrid or electric cars. Guess what the wanted SUVs and trucks. The state of California is not what the rest of America is. California is now starting to catch on. You cannot tax and regulate life style. Enough is enough. Change is coming. The Democrats left the opening and along comes the answer. President elect Trump. He is here and we shall all see great changes. I love every minute of it.
“Many of my Ridgway friends are Trump supporters, and nary a one is a racist,
misogynist or a bigot.”
Unfortunately, your white privilege is making that statement without a real understanding of its true meaning. That’s what happens when you live in a provincial town like Benicia.
https://www.facebook.com/jack.mahan.90/posts/10209964845870242
For your statement to be true, you would need to know all of Mr. Gibbs circle of friends to whom he refers. That being highly improbable (impossible?) your statement does not meat the criteria for truthfulness.
Please talk to people who are the victims of white privilege and read to truly understand why you rush to judgement, which is a typical diversion. At this point, all I can say is you miss the point because you don’t seem to understand the term.
“Frankly Jane I don’t give a dam” As Dan Acrid would say. Merry Christmas to you Jane and all that you are near and dear to you.
Dear Kevin,
This is a perfect response to illustrate the point of the article, especially your “I don’t give a damn” to your Christmas greeting…
There are people in the world who don’t celebrate Christmas, including me. All of this is why I write here now and then, to remind readers that a world exists outside of the Benicia bubble.
Dear Jane, May the peaceful light of Jesus shine down on you and your family during this joyous Christmas season.
I think the article was well thought out from the author’s point of view. He is a former educator, as his wife, so he sees the world through a certain lense. But his perspective will differ from others with different life styles and backgrounds.
From my viewpoint, a university degree working in business, the Trump victory was the result of two historical episodes: first, the GOP rank and file were extremely frustrated with the GOP congress. They offered no true opposition to the Obama policies. As a result, they nominated a fighter who wasn’t shy in expressing opposition, hence, Trump. Second, while Obama is personally popular, his policies are largely unpopular and Hillary was a terrible candidate with very serious ethical challenges. All Trump had to do was let Hillary be Hillary, and bingo … A win. All this in spite of his serious flaws.
But now that the election is over, I am willing to wait and see how Trump governs. If he proves to be the idiot racist/misogynist/……. I will speak out and oppose him at every opportunity. But if he proves to be a solid leader and acts in the best interests of the country, I will become a supporter. I understand those that are alarmed by Trump, but I would counsel caution. After all, a president is not a dictator. There are checks and balances.
“After all, a president is not a dictator.” – Try telling that to Obama.
😉
DT’s first message should be to those emboldened white supremacists (such as Richard Spencer) to stop the propaganda/rhetoric before it is too late.
Looks like DT finally did something respectable : “Trump disavows ‘alt-right’ supporters.”
Though, it is a pity that he decided to do it after the election.
I worked in a provential, in-a-bubble community for more than two decades, while living in one of the most ethnically diverse communities in the country. You, sir, would benefit greatly if you opened your mind just a bit:)
Who is this comment directed at? Cannot tell (for certainty) due to the posting placement.