OK, I promise this is the last time you’ll hear from me about the severe disconnect in this country, at least until after Nov. 8.
I voted for President Obama twice and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I hope he goes down in history as the smart, courageous, compassionate human being he is, and for all he has accomplished.
It turns out, in the latest New Yorker, that a big chunk of West Virginia voted for him too. That was a surprise, to me at least.
But this time they’re voting for Trump. And “Trump Country” explains why. An excerpt:
Trump seemed … to treat West Virginia like family, and he had noticed that many West Virginians in return treated Trump like family, brushing off the things he said that sounded nuts or that they didn’t agree with. “In Iraq, I listened to David Petraeus speak every day about how we had to rebuild Iraq’s oil infrastructure and protect it,” Richard Ojeda says. “But, if we’re going to go to trillions of dollars in debt over Iraq, why can’t we go billions of dollars in debt and make every single coal-producing plant clean in West Virginia? Don’t we deserve a hand? We built this country with the steel that came out of our coal, and we protected this country with our soldiers, and nobody cares. We’re more willing to give millions of dollars to people in other countries who’d just as soon put a bullet in the back of our heads. That’s why West Virginia is going to vote for Trump.”
The thing is, it really doesn’t matter whether we agree with, like, or admire each other at this point. If we don’t resolve our differences in some way, we’re pretty much doomed. Of course that includes differences with people we may have been taught to disregard, disrespect, even despise. My sister says the core Trump constituency is made up of people who know they’ve pretty much been written off, personally and economically. I think she’s right.
I’m seeking to start with understanding, hoping for discourse.
The link: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/10/in-the-heart-of-trump-country
My Word 
Terrific NY article, Lisa–very thought-provoking. It’s not hard to see DT’s appeal to those folks, if it weren’t for the fact that (I believe) it’s all bluster and no one would give him a second thought if they weren’t in such desperate straits–and also, to be fair, if some of Hillary’s words weren’t so elitist and condescending. I think if he were running against anyone else, he’d be toast, but I think the same is true of her. So it’s down to who we dislike less. How sad.
I do have respect for her values and her tenacity, though you really do have to question the motivation of anyone who wants that job. Did you catch the Frontline show a couple of weeks ago, which featured their life stories in alternating segments? It was quite interesting, the obvious contrast between his lifelong hedonism and her more-or-less lifelong commitment to the disadvantaged; but by the end there was a strong suggestion that her life after the Monica debacle has been greatly motivated by revenge. Not that I think she’s not totally entitled to feel that way. To me the most egregious of Bill’s misdeeds was letting her go on national TV to proclaim her belief in his innocence only days before he owned up–THAT’s what she should have left him for!
But oh my–do let us put all this nastiness behind us soon, and do let us pray for her victory. Apparently the people who know her and work with her think she’s a genuine, good person. The Despicable Other is too horrible to contemplate. Have a safe trip–XX Betsy
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