Trump: State Of The Union: A Guest Blog By Thomas D. Raher
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2019
When I listen to and watch Trump, two physical reactions take place. First, I shake my head from side to side continuously. Second, I chuckle in rhythm with my head shaking. Why? Because I'm agog! My political consciousness goes back to the Kennedy murder. I'm old. So my head shaking has spanned many and varied presidents. And I've chuckled at the lies and hypocrisy of pretty near all of them. Although, in my opinion, Nixon and Little Bush have run neck and neck as the most absurd. But, at least, all of the previous "leaders" consistently, at one moment or another, were actually presidential. Until now!
Let me state, I'm not an educated man, but I've read a book or two, which I think qualifies me to be a bit critical in my observations. I'm certainly not critiquing the whole talk as if I was a PBS pundit, but a couple of issues touch me. Also Trump's style, his bullying, is of particular interest.
I thought his hour and a half sing-song address touched very little on the actual state of our union. His tired generalities, platitudes with no substance, and slogans were disingenuous to a fault. Why in God's name did he feel the need to resurrect World War 2 veterans, and, what appeared to be, a very uncomfortable Holocaust survivor? From my back row seat, I thought this prolonged display, totally irrelevant and misguided. I actually felt sympathy for the old boys, having been so exploited. Of course they may have relished the attention, I don't know. But I do know there's no shame in Trump's game, and his self-praise is embarrassing.
I recently watched, again, a few early episodes of "Mad Men," a show reminding me of my dad during that period, and the inevitable demise and dysfunction of our family, but I digress. I was struck by the real similarities between Don Draper and Don Trump. I saw in the TV depiction of an era and its male dominated culture, exactly what Trump symbolizes. His whole agenda is an AD campaign, filled with unverifiable facts, lies, serious manipulations, jingoisms, slogans and fear. His goal of course is to sell a product the consumer, the voter, us, doesn't need.
THE WALL
His sales pitch for "The Wall" is simply astonishing, manipulating our fear. Our Fear! The Trump train continues thundering down the rails. The noise forces us to take notice even though we try to stifle it, to muffle it, to silence it, but it's inescapable. The bombast, the lies, the manipulations are relentless.
Once again I refer to a film, life imitating art or vice-versa, "The Taking of Pelham 123." The similarity to the Trump train is unmistakable. A psychopath and his gang hijack a subway train and chaos ensues. The crazed leader thrreatens to kill everyone on board unless the city pays a large ransom. Sound familiar? Thousands of government workers are held hostage, unless "The Don" receives ransom money for "The Wall!" The saga continues.
Frankly, I feel like a hostage. I've spent the last two years trying to avoid the Trump train. I haven't publicly expressed my sentiments because I'm from a generation that doesn't talk about politics or religion. I don't follow "The Don" on social media, which, by the way, is another presidential travesty, and I tune out news concerning his shenanigans. That said, these have been some of my thoughts, and now I retreat to the shadows.
Thomas Raher lives in San Francisco. His book, "Letters from a Working Stiff" (2013), a collection of letters spanning the years 1988 to 1995, is available from Lulu.
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