Aging Capriciously

You have read all the books.  You have heard all the theories.  Why do people support Trump?  But every time you listen to Trump, you shake your head wondering “why, why, why?”  Why would anyone support such a low life despicable character or should I say lack of character.  The experts, his “old” friends, his relatives and the left-wing keep coming up with more theories to explain the Trump phenomenon.  How could anyone support a man with no ethics?  An adulterer, liar and slanderer who is also greedy, avaricious and felonious.  A man who has already served one term in the highest office in the world with disastrous results and if his luck holds out may just serve another term.  How, how, how you ask is this possible?  How could 74 million people vote for such a person?

The books and pundits have proposed so many theories for the above questions during the last four years that it would make your head spin.  Going to Google, I found 111 books about Trump.  Most of these books are not favorable but a few are.  (See bibliography of Donald Trump).

There are other theories that have not been enshrined in a book yet.  A recent one that I heard had to do with virility.  Some scientists looked at the US States with the highest Viagra usage and found that the degree of Viagra sold correlated positively with the votes for Trump in that State.  The higher the usage of Viagra, the more men voted for Trump.  Ergo, the theory is that men who can’t get an erection are more likely to vote for Trump.  Needless to say, these “scientists” need to have their heads examined IMHO.  So why do people support Trump?  The other question is “why can’t any facts, data, evidence or Trump pronouncements change their minds?”  Lets start with the first question.

Why Do People Support Trump?

The answer lies in a John Denver song called, “Country Roads, Take Me Home”

Almost Heaven, West Virginia

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River

Life is old there, older than the trees

Younger than the mountains, growin’ like a breeze

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mama

Take me home, country roads

All my memories gather ’round her

Miner’s lady, stranger to blue water

Dark and dusty, painted on the sky

Misty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eye

Trump supporters want to go back to the “good old days.”  The days when Whites governed.  Blacks and other minorities knew their places.  Women worked in the kitchen and bedroom and had children.  Men were the breadwinners and on a miners, truck drivers, postal workers, or other blue-collar job could raise a family of six and still have a few bucks left over to go down to the local pub after work for a couple of brews with buddies.

You did not have to be politically correct around gays who were called fags, or disabled people who were called gimps.  Mexicans came over to do the farm work and went back to Mexico.  Other minorities were given visas and possibilities of becoming US citizens but in much smaller quantities than for White Europeans.  School is where you went to get a diploma, play sports and maybe go to college.  No one was worried about being shot in a mass shooting.  Guns were plentiful but were mainly used for hunting and target practice.  Shooting someone for taking your parking space, was unheard of.  (Man killed during fight over parking spot)

It was a time when the USA ruled the roost.  China, Russia, Korea and the Mideast did not dare or would not dare to challenge us.  We had a cold war but until Vietnam, we had peace and prosperity.  Religion was a place that taught morals and values.  The separation of church and state was still believed in by most people.  The TV show “Happy Days” captures some of the nostalgia for the “Good Old Days.”  Days that might have been very happy for some Americans but definitely not for others.  It was also a time of Jim Crow laws that relegated many African Americans to the “back of the bus” and to less than second rate jobs and education.

Unfortunately, the Democrats do not understand the Right-Wing nostalgia for the past.  Harris intones “We will not go back.”  She may win over minorities and progressive White people with this message but not with Trump supporters.  It is the opposite of what Trump is promising.  it conflicts with Trump’s message.  Some have interpreted Trump’s message to “Make America Great Again” as a code for “Make America White Again.”  I believe a more accurate interpretation for his followers would be to “Take America Back Again.”  Back to Happy Days, back to a John Denver valley of peaceful tranquility.  Harris wants to go forward but Trump supporters are cautious, going forward to what?  Artificial Intelligence?  Mars Expeditions?  More fake internet information?  More wars in unknown parts of the world like Gaza and the Ukraine?  I want to go home.  I want to go home.

I hear her voice in the mornin’ hour, she calls me

The radio reminds me of my home far away

Drivin’ down the road, I get a feelin’

That I should’ve been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home

To the place I belong

West Virginia, mountain mama

Take me home, country roads

 In my next blog, I will answer the second question that I posed above: “Why can’t any facts, data, evidence or Trump pronouncements change a Trump supporters mind?”