GK- I think you are a teeny bit negative about politics & especially so now at a time of crisis. Should the orange guy succeed and avoid any financial and/or criminal penalties for his malfeasances, what then? We must keep up the fight for what’s right & good & true!
Glad your heart surgery was successful & you have at least a decade more time in this world.
It’s always a pleasure to read your comments. You are a hoot. Not many writers use “bushwa” and “shebang” in the same column. That made me smile. You are indeed a mid-westerner. It is like listening to my deceased father, who was born and raised on a Michigan farm during the Great Depression. I miss his voice.
We in this great country have a serious illness. It is an illness of the soul. Racism is a stain that remains from slavery and before that. The explorers who discovered this continent showed racism toward the indigenous people that met them.
The Civil Rights Movement in the sixties showed how really divided this country is when it comes to race. The struggle for change is not over. Black Lives Matter is just a recent expression of the problem. True conversion of the heart to the fact that we are all equal in God’s eyes will take more strife and effort from all.
The reference to “Big Rock Candy Mountain” was much appreciated. As a child, my parent had children's music records for us to play. We had a Burl Ives album and it was well listened to.
Thank you, Mr. Keillor. In a time when there doesn't seem to be a lot to delight in on the national scene, I'm delighted by your sanity and candor. Peace be with you.
Great column Garrison. I, like you, was pleased to see that Obama had been elected President. I had hopes that we were getting racism and racial divisions behind us. As we know that turned out not to be the case. The racial divide is a tremendous burden to much of this country. Many people don't think about it but in some parts of the country, race plays a part in just about every issue and every part of life. That is a terrible road block as far as solving some of our great problems.
I should not have been surprised but there were many people who I encounter who hated President Obama because he was black. Then when they found out that he was courteous and well mannered and well spoken and when to Harvard, they hated him even more. I really don't understand it. President Obama always seemed to me to be an old fashioned moderate republican like Henry Cabot Lodge or Nelson Rockefeller.
A few other thoughts: FDR is the best natural politician that we have had. He made some terrible mistakes (such as interning the Japanese/Americans) but he did a lot of good and he genuinely wanted to improve the lives of people. He was not just going through the motions or reading talking points.
My Dad grew up in the depression and he loved FDR. My father thought that the greatest invention in history was indoor plumbing and the indoor toilet. So you can see where he was coming from.
While growing up I also met people who did not know that there had been a depression. They were dirt poor before the depression came, so when the rest of the country experienced the depression they did not notice anything different.
Well enough rambling for now. Have a nice day and a nice life.
Well said, Garrison. DC is a swamp - both sides of the aisle. Career politicians are concerned with one thing and one thing only - get reelected. They spend your and my money like a drunken sailor. And when they leave office, they seem to have a much better stock portfolio then when the entered. The last honest politician that I can remember was Harry S Truman. When he left office, many companies tried to get him to join their boards, but he refused - he said they didn't want him, they wanted the presidency and that was not for sale. Apparently, these days it is = Clintons, Obama, to name a few.
Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II may be dead, but the “can-do” optimism of FDR is a Victorian Era trait we need now in our cynical political world governed more by self interest than by the common good. The empathy acquired by that man who had it all until polio seemingly took it all is that pearl beyond price that need be found in today’s politics.
Mr. K, say what you will about being 80 (84 here), you’re wit has not escaped you. We may move at a slower and more deliberate pace, but our experience makes up for that.
Thanks for using FDR and BHO in the same space. I was inoculated with the Kool-Aid by JFK so I vote straight line DEM in NH ...which I take personnel credit for turning purple. Bless you , your sweet whimsy, your teachers, and your doctors and spouse.
Keep at it and ask Steve King to cast you as a villain in his next video. I think he'll take the bait.
Speaking of watching politicians on TV, the most disgusting performance I can recall was during the 2016 presidential campaign. I was visiting friends, and they had the tube on for a 2016 Presidential debate. What I saw was like some blonde "Village Maiden" being pursued by Count Dracula! The only props Trump lacked were a black cape and false fangs! There he was, his face looming over the top of Hillary's head, every time she had her allotted few minutes of air-time in front of the camera. Afterwards, some commentator mentioned that Trump had decided that he wouldn't allow her to have the camera to herself at all - hence the "shadowing" game.
That one bit of "gamesmanship," in itself, counted as much or more to me in terms of voting preference, than every ounce of Democratic fealty I have! It was such an egocentric display: "I'M the one that's important! I'M the only one who counts!" "It's not about the country. It's not about what's best for the world or its people. It's only about ME! ME! ME!"
"President of the United States." As kids, we used to use that as sort of a surrogate phrase for "King of the Hill" - "The highest position around." But we were kids. We were looking at organization charts, not thinking about what it meant to actually be sitting in that seat. The Presidential seat is one of service, of conscience, of fairness to all - as much as possible, and of respect for the nation - where it's been and where it's going. In a way, a subway worker in New York City who courageously closes all the flood gates as a hurricane roars up the coast could be as important and as "significant" as a politician in a high place. Our nation needs US - all of US - all of US who do our daily jobs conscientiously, and who are aware of OUR PEOPLE as ONE PEOPLE, not individuated by race, gender, creed or wealth. Did Donald Trump hold himself up to these standards in those debates? I doubt it.
I hope you can live as long as your mom and keep commenting on life as we assume we know it. My wife and I also have different political views, but it doesn't get in the way of our love for each other. In my business, I avoid returning comments about religion and politics to anyone that has their own strong opinions. I am just still waiting for a strong third party to shake things up.
I thought that at my advanced age I was beyond getting all teary eyed. Obama's election and his family joining him on that stage proved me wrong. I look back and compare that moment with what I felt when the fool took the stage. Rage, compared with joy, is not even close. The fool has taken on a viral-like life. Unfortunately, there is no medication to relieve us of him. Maybe time will cleanse us of him. I can only hope.
I cried on that 2008 evening and felt as your mother did. I am terribly (not “teeny” bit) depressed about the state of our union and our states. Perhaps when our legislators stopped having Friday night beers together, we lost part of our union.
Sorry, Luise Mayer: That "teeny bit negativce" doesn't make sense. I'm 76. We didn't believe hiding under our desk in High School was going to protect me from an Atomic Bomb - and we manage to get out of having a nuclear war. The Cuban Missile crisis? No Nuclear War. But now we do have something to be afraid of - a Civil War, and you admit it. No way did I ever dream it could happen. We survived the Cold War and Senator Joe McCarthy. A few Science Fiction writers worked civil war into a plot in a story, but we read it as fiction. Even Heinlein's. Yes, we must keep up the fight- because it isn't negativity on GK's part, but truth.
GK- I think you are a teeny bit negative about politics & especially so now at a time of crisis. Should the orange guy succeed and avoid any financial and/or criminal penalties for his malfeasances, what then? We must keep up the fight for what’s right & good & true!
Glad your heart surgery was successful & you have at least a decade more time in this world.
Us Minnesotans are survivors!
It’s always a pleasure to read your comments. You are a hoot. Not many writers use “bushwa” and “shebang” in the same column. That made me smile. You are indeed a mid-westerner. It is like listening to my deceased father, who was born and raised on a Michigan farm during the Great Depression. I miss his voice.
We in this great country have a serious illness. It is an illness of the soul. Racism is a stain that remains from slavery and before that. The explorers who discovered this continent showed racism toward the indigenous people that met them.
The Civil Rights Movement in the sixties showed how really divided this country is when it comes to race. The struggle for change is not over. Black Lives Matter is just a recent expression of the problem. True conversion of the heart to the fact that we are all equal in God’s eyes will take more strife and effort from all.
The reference to “Big Rock Candy Mountain” was much appreciated. As a child, my parent had children's music records for us to play. We had a Burl Ives album and it was well listened to.
Thank you, Mr. Keillor. In a time when there doesn't seem to be a lot to delight in on the national scene, I'm delighted by your sanity and candor. Peace be with you.
Great column Garrison. I, like you, was pleased to see that Obama had been elected President. I had hopes that we were getting racism and racial divisions behind us. As we know that turned out not to be the case. The racial divide is a tremendous burden to much of this country. Many people don't think about it but in some parts of the country, race plays a part in just about every issue and every part of life. That is a terrible road block as far as solving some of our great problems.
I should not have been surprised but there were many people who I encounter who hated President Obama because he was black. Then when they found out that he was courteous and well mannered and well spoken and when to Harvard, they hated him even more. I really don't understand it. President Obama always seemed to me to be an old fashioned moderate republican like Henry Cabot Lodge or Nelson Rockefeller.
A few other thoughts: FDR is the best natural politician that we have had. He made some terrible mistakes (such as interning the Japanese/Americans) but he did a lot of good and he genuinely wanted to improve the lives of people. He was not just going through the motions or reading talking points.
My Dad grew up in the depression and he loved FDR. My father thought that the greatest invention in history was indoor plumbing and the indoor toilet. So you can see where he was coming from.
While growing up I also met people who did not know that there had been a depression. They were dirt poor before the depression came, so when the rest of the country experienced the depression they did not notice anything different.
Well enough rambling for now. Have a nice day and a nice life.
Well said, Garrison. DC is a swamp - both sides of the aisle. Career politicians are concerned with one thing and one thing only - get reelected. They spend your and my money like a drunken sailor. And when they leave office, they seem to have a much better stock portfolio then when the entered. The last honest politician that I can remember was Harry S Truman. When he left office, many companies tried to get him to join their boards, but he refused - he said they didn't want him, they wanted the presidency and that was not for sale. Apparently, these days it is = Clintons, Obama, to name a few.
Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II may be dead, but the “can-do” optimism of FDR is a Victorian Era trait we need now in our cynical political world governed more by self interest than by the common good. The empathy acquired by that man who had it all until polio seemingly took it all is that pearl beyond price that need be found in today’s politics.
Mr. K, say what you will about being 80 (84 here), you’re wit has not escaped you. We may move at a slower and more deliberate pace, but our experience makes up for that.
Keep on trucking, Don Singer
Thanks for using FDR and BHO in the same space. I was inoculated with the Kool-Aid by JFK so I vote straight line DEM in NH ...which I take personnel credit for turning purple. Bless you , your sweet whimsy, your teachers, and your doctors and spouse.
Keep at it and ask Steve King to cast you as a villain in his next video. I think he'll take the bait.
Speaking of watching politicians on TV, the most disgusting performance I can recall was during the 2016 presidential campaign. I was visiting friends, and they had the tube on for a 2016 Presidential debate. What I saw was like some blonde "Village Maiden" being pursued by Count Dracula! The only props Trump lacked were a black cape and false fangs! There he was, his face looming over the top of Hillary's head, every time she had her allotted few minutes of air-time in front of the camera. Afterwards, some commentator mentioned that Trump had decided that he wouldn't allow her to have the camera to herself at all - hence the "shadowing" game.
That one bit of "gamesmanship," in itself, counted as much or more to me in terms of voting preference, than every ounce of Democratic fealty I have! It was such an egocentric display: "I'M the one that's important! I'M the only one who counts!" "It's not about the country. It's not about what's best for the world or its people. It's only about ME! ME! ME!"
"President of the United States." As kids, we used to use that as sort of a surrogate phrase for "King of the Hill" - "The highest position around." But we were kids. We were looking at organization charts, not thinking about what it meant to actually be sitting in that seat. The Presidential seat is one of service, of conscience, of fairness to all - as much as possible, and of respect for the nation - where it's been and where it's going. In a way, a subway worker in New York City who courageously closes all the flood gates as a hurricane roars up the coast could be as important and as "significant" as a politician in a high place. Our nation needs US - all of US - all of US who do our daily jobs conscientiously, and who are aware of OUR PEOPLE as ONE PEOPLE, not individuated by race, gender, creed or wealth. Did Donald Trump hold himself up to these standards in those debates? I doubt it.
Maybe it isn’t “politics” any more. It certainly isn’t what it would be in its highest state, if it ever had a high state.
I hope you can live as long as your mom and keep commenting on life as we assume we know it. My wife and I also have different political views, but it doesn't get in the way of our love for each other. In my business, I avoid returning comments about religion and politics to anyone that has their own strong opinions. I am just still waiting for a strong third party to shake things up.
I thought that at my advanced age I was beyond getting all teary eyed. Obama's election and his family joining him on that stage proved me wrong. I look back and compare that moment with what I felt when the fool took the stage. Rage, compared with joy, is not even close. The fool has taken on a viral-like life. Unfortunately, there is no medication to relieve us of him. Maybe time will cleanse us of him. I can only hope.
I cried on that 2008 evening and felt as your mother did. I am terribly (not “teeny” bit) depressed about the state of our union and our states. Perhaps when our legislators stopped having Friday night beers together, we lost part of our union.
Sorry, Luise Mayer: That "teeny bit negativce" doesn't make sense. I'm 76. We didn't believe hiding under our desk in High School was going to protect me from an Atomic Bomb - and we manage to get out of having a nuclear war. The Cuban Missile crisis? No Nuclear War. But now we do have something to be afraid of - a Civil War, and you admit it. No way did I ever dream it could happen. We survived the Cold War and Senator Joe McCarthy. A few Science Fiction writers worked civil war into a plot in a story, but we read it as fiction. Even Heinlein's. Yes, we must keep up the fight- because it isn't negativity on GK's part, but truth.