“Do you think I am an automaton? — a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! — I have as much soul as you — and full as much heart.”
Charlotte Bronte – “Jane Eyre”
Things in America are changing at what appears to be light speed. This is especially true in our political arena. Power has shifted from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party. Donald Trump, the man who, not too long ago, seemed to be on the verge of “making license plates and busting rock” is now the President of the United States.
How could it have happened? Donald Trump, a man who has been hounded and vilified by his political enemies, mocked as a crude, power mad fraud, or a know-nothing carnival barker, has defied what political handicappers have told us about his popularity.
I’ve given it all some thought and I think it comes down to one very remarkable word – metamorphosis.
Metamorphosis is defined as “A change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural means.”
The definition fits on three levels. Doanld Trump has changed. Politicians, especially Democratic Party politicians have changed. And, the people of the United States have changed.
I’ll start with Donald Trump. Over the years he’s been portrayed as a thin skinned braggart. I think there’s a grain of truth in that description, but what those who label him that way fail or refuse to see is that there just may be a reasonable explanation for that behavior. When young Donald was in college his father, Fred Trump, took him to the dedication of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in f964. Before they went. Trump’s father told young Donald
to make careful note of what was going to happen at the ceremony. Then, as the ceremony proceeded, politicians, as they so often do, took credit for the dedication and hard work Othmar Amman, the Swiss engineer who had designed and overseen the construction of this technological marvel, had actually done. As the minutes passed by the politicians ignored Amman and kept patting themselves on the back. On the way home Trump’s father told young Donald, “Did you see what they did to that man?” He followed that up by instructing young Donald to “Never let anyone ever treat you with that kind of contempt!”
Donald Trump took his father’s advice to heart. Over the years since he has become a world famous entrepreneur with a notoriously short fuse. He’s become wealthy beyond imagination while, at the same time, developing a reputation as a buffoon who will fight at the drop of a hat, an insult, or a slight.
It really was, and is, a strange combination of personality traits and a willingness to respond forcefully to the insults and slights.
Yet, somehow, in spite of all his deficiencies, Donald Trump is the President of the United States. And, he’s vowing to once more “Make America great again.” Will he succeed? I don’t know, but I am seeing something in Donald Trump this time around that I haven’t seen before. During the campaign, Trump miraculously escaped an assassin’s attempt to end both his life and his campaign for the Presidency. There’s been a remarkable metamorphosis in Donald Trump. He has become, much to the chagrin of his political enemies, a “man of the people.”
Now, it’s not that there haven’t been shades of this Donald Trump on display over the years. My wife and I lived in New Jersey back in the nineties and got to see the reports of him cavorting around the Garden State. For those willing to see it, he much preferred rubbing elbows with construction workers, bellhops, and other “ham and eggers”than fraternizing with the high and mighty. If one cares to see this , he or she could watch media reports and video feeds these days and see Trump interacting with average Americans – policemen, laborers, soldiers, sailors, etc. He enjoys being around them and they, in urn, enjoy being around him.
I believe it’s a recipe for success.
Will Donald Trump succeed? Only time will tell, but I do know this. He’s going to try like hell to do the things he’s promised the American people.
On the other side of the ledger we have the Democratic Party, the Party that used to be known as the “People’s Party.” As almost everyone in America can see, that Party is now dead. Their contempt for the people of this country is palpable. It’s so dead, in fact, that even our pliable news media can see it. What follows to demonstrate this truth is an extended quote from Peggy Noonan’s op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal:
“We are in “Death Wish II.”
In this space we believe two strong and healthy parties vying for popular support is good for the country, and we offer advice for the Democrats.
I will start with something they won’t believe. In politics, there is bringing the love and bringing the hate. When the 13-year-old boy who had brain cancer and has always wanted to be a cop is appointed as an honorary Secret Service agent, laminated ID and all, and the child, surprised by the gesture, hugs the normally taciturn head of the Secret Service, the only thing to do, because you are human, is cheer that child. And when the president honors a young man whose late father, a veteran and policeman, had inspired his wish to serve, and dreams of attending West Point, and the president says that he has some sway in the admissions office and young man you are going to West Point—I not only got choked up when it happened I’m choked up as I write. The boy with cancer high-fives the young man, and the only response to such sweetness is tears in your eyes.
That moment is “the love.” It was showing love for regular Americans. To cheer them is to cheer us. It shows admiration for and affiliation with normal people who try, get through, endure and hold on to good hopes.
The Democrats brought the hate. They sat stone-faced, joyless and loveless. They don’t show love for Americans anymore. They look down on them, feel distance from them, instruct them, remind them to feel bad that they’re surrounded by injustice because, well, they’re unjust.
Mr. Trump says: No, man, I love you.
Which is better? Which is kinder, more generous? Which inspires? Which wins?”
I’ve seen this sordid business play out in our political arena and as we’ve watched journalists and Progressive influence peddlers parrot the same tired spiels. They reflect nothing but contempt for the American people. Just this morning for example, I watched a report on a recent encounter the Boston police had with a knife wielding lunatic who was attempting to murder people in a fast food restaurant. The only way they could stop him was to shoot him. The lunatic died. In a news conference that followed, the mayor of Boston and a couple of police higher-ups expressed their sympathies for the family of the dead lunatic who was in the process of trying to kill a couple of innocent Bostonians in a fast food restaurant.
It’s evident. This is not the kind of metamorphosis America needs from its leaders right now.
Thankfully, there is another segment of our population that is experiencing profound change right now. It’s the people themselves. It’s America’s mothers and fathers. It’s a cadre of cops on the beat, bricklayers, auto workers, cab drivers, mechanics, waitresses, waitresses, and veterans, and millions of other American citizens. They’ve just taken part in a ballot box revolution that has resulted in a call for change – change for the b
etter. They’re tired of the stale bread that our leaders have been throwing at them for far too long.
Those of us who want change know that the road ahead won’t be easy. We’re not helpless pollyannas. We are ready to embrace the changes we believe will benefit all of us.