SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 – Yesterday I fled the cities again for the Red Cabin. That sounds as if the cities are “aflame,” but that’s not true. They’re safe and secure, and though lately the sun has exhibited an unusual orange tinge from West Coast smoke, the outdoor air is still breathable. Black Lives Mattersigns still blanket the neighborhood, along with a few BIDEN-HARRIS signs. The lone neighborhood Trump sign appears in the yard of a long-time Libertarian who seems to confuse the ideal of “limited government” with a guy who thinks he aloneis “the government.”
The countryside on the way to the Red Cabin is a different story. Even more Trump signs have appeared since I’d traveled the same route a week ago: loud billboards and flocks of small signs. One large sign implored passing motorists with a self-contradiction: “Take Our Country Back! Vote Trump-Pence!”
Other signs shouted, “Keep America Great!” which I juxtaposed against an array of mental images reflecting stuff we shouldn’t “keep”: Covid; West Coast conflagration; millions living on the edge; a stressed-out electoral system; fallen standing in the world; police shootings of black men; destructive reactions by hellions of all brands . . . you catch my drift. When you’re the party in power amidst multiple national crises, how do you make “Four More Years!” sound palatable, let alone motivational?
Exactly! You pretend and leverage the “pretend” with hyped-up propaganda.
As I drove through Trumpland, I imagined pulling over here and there to engage “billboard” supporters, especially, in conversation about their views.
I “pretended” I was a reporter seeking the individual stories behind those giant Trump signs. I didn’t have to pretend that in many instances there’d be a dog or a firearm to consider as I drove up a long drive. (On the other hand, the BIDEN-HARRIS sticker was on the rear of my car.)
I pretended to smile as I pretended to greet the Trumpsters. “Hi, there!”
“What can we do for ya?” I pretended they’d say.
“Oh nothing, really,” I’d say. “I’m a reporter with Great Times Are Here, working on a story about all the people who wanna keep America great. Figured with your big sign out there by the road, you’d be good people to start with. Whadda ya say?”
I pretended the monster dog nearby was wagging his tail.
“Okay,” his owner would say. “Whadda ya got? I don’t have all day,” even though by the looks of things I’d figure he did.
“Well, for starters, I know there’re lots of things to list, but can ya give me the top three things that have improved in your life since 2016?”
But then the pretending stopped, because I couldn’t pretend that I’d hear a convincing response; just one filled with a schizophrenia of fear and anger on one hand, and flat-out denial on the other, all in lock-step with a pretender who “tells it like it is.”
I wish I could pretend that America is greater than it is right now.
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© 2020 by Eric Nilsson
