Hard Luck for Common Ground

There’s no doubt that the complete story of the poisoning of American politics and society by Donald Trump and his handlers and followers has yet to be written.  Every day a new chapter of hate and disregard for the principles that actually made this country great is added to Trump’s magnum opus.  How do you get votes in Texas?  Claim that immigrants should be shot on sight.  Votes in Florida?  Demonize the LGBTQ community.  Previously important voices in establishing community and a moral code for their followers, evangelical “Christians” now embrace Trump’s message of hate, isolation, and disregard for basic human rights.  If America ever becomes great again (and we have a long way to go) it won’t be because Trump and his blindly hateful minions get their way.  

Some of us have come to understand that, in order for our country to overcome the existential Trumpian threat that plagues us, we have to find some common ground with those who are either too ignorant, too hardened, too hateful, or too hopeful that Trump will rescue them from the responsibility of being good citizens in a pluralistic society.  Developing that common ground without abandoning whatever remnants of human dignity we have left is not that easy.  We are forced to look past what seems like an intentional drive by trumpistanians to fashion our country into a Central Asian-style dictatorship.  We have long passed the opportunity to truly understand what makes these folks hell-bent on destroying the American Moment, the American Empire, and the American Dream.  Yet still, we have to live side-by-side with those who cherish our continued demise.

This past weekend I attended a baseball conference in Mt. Pleasant held at a casino.  As the worst blizzard of the year blew strongly outside, it was a wonderful respite to sit with hundreds of baseball coaches from around the state and talk about old times and about the hope for the upcoming season.  After the sessions were over I had the chance (and a small bankroll from she-who-must-be-obeyed) to play some cards on the casino floor.  Traditionally I play a lot of blackjack, but recently I have had a lot of fun playing a game called Ultimate Texas Hold ‘em.  The details aren’t important, but it’s a game you can play a long time without losing a ton of money, and occasionally you can hit a nice jackpot.  For me, it’s a lot more slow-paced and provides more of an opportunity to be social with the other players than does blackjack.  Unlike blackjack, the actions other players take in Ultimate cannot affect the outcome of my hand, so there’s no opportunity for them to make a decision that might cost me a lot of money. 

On Friday, I sat down at a table that had two or three dudes and a couple in their 50’s already playing.  I sat on the end next to the couple and we struck up a conversation.  We talked about sports, the weather, our families, etc.  When they told me they were from Howell, my radar clicked on and I decided to be very careful.  Howell is one of the ultra-conservative pockets in Michigan and has a long history of hostility to people of color.  The Grand Dragon of the KKK for many years was based out of Howell.  I remember wandering into the Howell Melon Festival when my children were young just for something to do on a Saturday.  As we sat at long picnic benches eating barbequed chicken, my kids got a chance to listen to a profanity laced tirade by one of Howell’s finest about how black people (he didn’t actually say “black people”, of course) should just stay in Detroit and leave us while folks alone.  Halfway through a bite of a pretty decent chicken leg I had to gather the kids and head back to Ann Arbor wondering what the hell I was thinking coming up to the dark side.  (I guess that guy would be angry that I called Howell the “dark side”, but you get the point.)

Now I know that not EVERYONE in Howell is a racist, but voting totals for Trump in 2016 and 2020 indicate that the odds that the people sitting next to me were trumpistanians were pretty high.  It was then I thought about finding common ground.  Couldn’t we just sit there for an evening of card playing without talking politics or without me deciding that these folks were not worth my time?  We have to start somewhere.  Instead of changing tables to avoid the inevitable slip of the tongue that would lead to confrontation, I decided to stick it out and resume what had been a friendly conversation the last couple of hours.  I won’t say I wasn’t on guard, but I made a solid effort to ignore the possibility that these people were Trump supporters. 

About 45 minutes later a genuine America-hating trumpistanian in full regalia bellied up to the table and plopped down some cash.  He was sitting right across from me, so I knew my time at this table was probably limited.  Again, however, I decided not to bail and to give it a chance.  Besides, my new friends had given no indication that they were hostile to true American values.  Until that moment.  The husband enthusiastically greeted the newly arrived horse’s ass, complimenting his t-shirt and saying something like “Finally, someone I agree with!”

I was genuinely crestfallen.  My grand experiment in trying to find common ground lasted just about two hours from the time I learned the couple next to me was from Howell until the time he let me know that there was no way for me to truly connect with him.  I colored up my chips and watched their faces change.  The wife in particular was really confused as to why I was leaving.  “You really have to go?  We were having fun and we are all winning!”  I had no interest in explaining my disappointment in the change of atmosphere.  Instead I somberly grabbed my chips and wished them good luck.  

I found another table and this time kept to myself, not wanting to risk more disappointment.  It was then I realized that maybe, just maybe, I am truly broken.   Living through 2016-2020 was hard enough, but had Trump decided to move on to his next scam after losing in 2020, I know both the country and myself would be on the road to recovery.  Instead, he’s back for more cash, and it looks again like he has a legitimate chance to win.  Despite pussy-grabbing, mocking the disabled, lying thousands of times, and orchestrating an insurrection that would have kept him in power, there are Americans who actually want him back in charge!  Even if he somehow loses in 2024, the fact that he is even a factor in the election might indicate we have passed the point of no return.  

And of course it is all Obama’s fault.  If he had just decided not to be half-black, maybe the racists would have stayed in their holes and left making America great again to those of us who truly know what that means.