I think this may all be happening as a backlash. I think, in the Western World, white men have been told to give things up for much of the past twenty years. White men have had the advantages in life for a long time. Job opportunities, political say… basically running things. And, for years now, we’ve been told women need more say and opportunity. And racial minorities also need more. I’m not saying these changes were wrong or unjustified. I think it’s right. But I can also see where the frustration would come from. To see your father or grandfather have so many advantages in life… and to not share in such advantages. That you didn’t do anything personally to lose out… but politicians have dictated that those advantages will no longer be there. It’s not surprising that there’d be resentment towards that. And if there’s a politician speaking about “making America great again” or “bringing back jobs”. It could be a ray of hope for those people with all that resentment in them.
I don’t agree with any of this, mind you. I think equal opportunities should be available and that it’s completely wrong to make a scape goat out of particular cultures, sex, or other demographic. I think Trump is an ego maniac bordering on being a psychopath. But I do think that this is all the reasoning why he ended up winning this election. He spoke to a large, powerful demographic that, for the last twenty years, has been feeling hard done by.
On today’s walk, I’ve found the signs that, despite all the construction around my wooded area, the wildlife is still there. Today I found deer tracks… coyote tracks and poop… and fresh stumps that are the result of beaver deforestation. It made me smile.
Looking for some simple nostalgia after the US Election, the next day I watched back to back episodes of Three’s Company followed by a couple of old, favourite movies. The Three’s Company really hit he spot. It’s the first time I’ve watched any of that show for probably twenty years. Some of it would never make it to TV today. One episode had a rich man harassing Cindy (the second of the three blondes that lived with Janet and Jack). He wouldn’t listen to her clear, negative responses to his advances. Even both Jack and Janet were swayed to let Cindy marry the man because Jack would become a rich head chef at multiple, international restaurants and Janet would be given a flower shop to own. Yes, today such subjects wouldn’t make it to sitcom TV. It would be sexual harassment for certain. The odd thing is that subjects that are now taboo on sitcoms still qualify you to be president of the most powerful nation on earth. Hmm.
Still, all that aside, Three’s Company just reminded me of simpler times. A small, simple apartment. No cell phones. No internet. People drop by and ring the doorbell. The phone rings and it’s a real person… that you know… on the other end of the line. And it was a simpler time for me when I was originally watching the show. First, when it was still airing new… watching it in the evenings laying on the floor in front of the TV. And later, when reruns would come on around supper time… meals would be eaten in front of the TV with a smile on the face and worries far away.
