The Trump Card

After some of the very concerning things that have happened to the great country south of where I live and a very intelligent lady who I was lucky enough to marry, some interesting ideas began to foment.

Most news media we get to listen to/watch is staffed by educated and I’m guessing city people – our illiteratti. The USA President elect appealed to a more rural and probably less formally educated group.

Most media we get to take in probably don’t rub shoulders with what we used to call the common working types.

I, although purportedly, educated spent my career working under the direction of rural small town committees. I have yet to find a more common sense intelligent group.

If you’ve seen any other of my posts, you’d have figured out that I play old timers hockey. The teams I’ve played in are a collection of all types and lately a wide variety of ages. You can have some very interesting and enlightening conversations after an hour or so of team sport.

I also play in a marching band (bagpipes actually) and again a wide mix of personalities. About half of us blow a fixed volume, nine notes, can’t shut it off instrument and the other half beat drums.

Without commenting on the views of the President elect, he tapped into something that our illiteratti missed – that common sense that lives within all of us but is often not easily expressed. It didn’t matter that some of the things said and done were repugnant. His background appeal was to this unexpressed “something”.

It’s not bigotry (two syllables less than xenophobia), but it could be.
It’s not just fear, but it could be – sort of
It’s not jealousy, but maybe something a bit more akin to WTF
It is more like one part of his message was you not on the inside deserve to be represented.

Basically there is a frustration of being ignored. The intelligencia may perceive that they know it all (or at least enough) to get their way. However, living with and listening to the less formally prepared would have allowed those who try to shape our thinking to see that maybe we don’t need shaping, just consideration.

In order to avoid the more damaging aspects of the insiderism into which we seem to have fallen, it’s time to truly listen (and heed) widely. Sometimes the nine trumps the ace.

The Plaidneck