I woke up this morning, too early, trying to understand why that hate-filled demagogue, Donald J. Trump, remains a thorn in our side. His minions in the GOP, and there’s really nothing else you can call them, are holding Ukraine aid hostage while they exacerbate crises on the Mexican border with deadly barriers and hope against hope that their god-king will once again be in charge. You can be sure that the GOP pols who used to run the show (Ryan, McConnell and so many others) hate Trump with a passion, because he got wise to their tactics and turned them against anyone who opposed him. There may be a few true believers in the crowd, but the collection of clowns and con-men that represent the GOP “elite” these days are mostly vultures, looking to see what they can pick from the bones.
I read a headline in the New York Times the other day: “Voters depressed by the possibility of another Trump/Biden contest”. I would like to clarify for the Times: It is the continued presence of Trump that is depressing. He has sucked the joy out of life for me and many other people since he was nominated in 2016, and continues to do so. I remember a pre-COVID Saturday Night Live skit featuring a talking Trumpy dog that bragged of the inevitability of Trump’s re-election. COVID, for all of the grief, pain and death that it has wrought, exposed the incompetence of the man and those around him. COVID saved us from a second Trump term.
So why is DJT still with us? Blame it on my generation. I was born in 1954, the heart of the Baby Boom, nine years after the Greatest Generation, having survived the Great Depression, defeated fascism both at home and abroad. It was my parents’ generation that started this nation on the long road to desegregation, built the social safety nets that we take for granted, and in general left this country and world in better shape than they found it. We Boomers were the beneficiaries of their efforts, and we took it for granted that we deserved the largesse. We never really grew up, or even saw the need to do so. The music we listened to (and still listen to) extolled the joys and exuberance of youth. The music of the Beatles, as majestic and timeless as some of it is, was composed for children. If you doubt that, just listen to the lyrics of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, “Yellow Submarine” or “Magical Mystery Tour”. They are nursery rhymes set to music.
Now, we Boomers are old, gray and dying. As a generation, we look around with dissatisfaction, wondering why the endless childhood we were promised has run aground on a sand bar of lost chances, missed opportunities or just plain stupidity. Didn’t we deserve better? Where is our retribution? Donald Trump is the apotheosis of Boomer frustrations and bitterness. He remembers every slight, and is haunted by the truth that he has never succeeded at anything, and that nothing real is gained without paying a price.
Recently, I have been hearing a “new” Beatles song, “Now and Then”. It has been electronically teased and primped from previously unreleased material that, like most such discoveries, had been left on the cutting room floor for good reason. The song sounds nice, but is also thoroughly forgettable. I cannot think of a better anthem for my generation.