AUGUST 13, TUESDAY

TRUMP, MY BARBER AND ME

Last night I listened to a little of the interview between Elon Musk and Donald Trump. It actually wasn‘t an interview, it was a public conversation between two very rich men. What surprised me was both the informal tone of the conversation, of how pleasant the two men were, always agreeing with each other, and how easily each man expressed himself. This wasn‘t the egg salad, furious, vindictive Trump that I expected. It was just two old men sharing their feelings about the state of American polarization and what they wanted to do about it.

I am talking about the tone, not whether what they said was accurate or well thought out or realistic. It was the way that they talked with each other as they shared their view of the world that impressed me. Their tone was reasonable and polite.

But that made me think of what I have overheard at the barber shop in Swannanoa that I go to whenever pushed to look better. At the Swannanoa Barber Shop Fox News is on and my barber and the others in the room, ignoring me, share their view of the world and what is wrong with the United States. They don‘t argue because they all agree. Every statement about the libs or the northerners invading the south or the lack of jobs is a statement of fact with which they all agree and nod their heads. What they are doing is simply supporting each other in their MAGA views and each adding more examples that confirm their strong emotions.

The odd thing is that when I hear Musk and Trump talking in this polite, mutually supporting way or when I hear my barber talking in this way, I almost feel empathy for them and their perspective. I can see why they feel this way. That was even one of Musk‘s points, that he felt a need to balance the great harm that lawless rapist and murdering immigrants could do by feeling empathy for the people they were hurting while at the same time feeling empathy for the immigrants and their plight. It sounded to me like an attempt to be a tough guy and a good guy at the same time. Musk and Trump are good guys trying to protect America from itself. My barber and his friends are good guys.

Of course, this makes me and my circle of old men that I talk with on Friday, into the bad guys. But what strikes me is that in many ways the conversation of our old man‘s group sounds just the same as the conversation between Musk and Trump and between my barber and his friends. My old man‘s group all agree on the nuttiness of Trump and Musk, and pity the misplaced fury of my barber and his friends. We all agree that Biden was a good and successful president. Our conversation is polite and we all join in by adding examples of how right we are and how we can‘t fathom how apparently good people could believe a word Trump says, including his outrageous statements such as saying Kamala‘s crowds were created by artificial intelligence. Trump and Musk ended by congratulating on how right they both were and how they were the last hope for America. If they had been in the same room they would have hugged each other before parting. Our old man‘s group leaves each of our Friday meetings feeling really good after being in each other‘s presence. It is a high point of our week. Both group conversations as just alike except that we are totally polarized and don‘t believe a word of what the other group says.

As I finish writing this I discover that Trump will be here in Asheville at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium tomorrow and that April Owens of Mount Carmal, Tennessee with her nephew from Virginia is the first in line, sitting in deck chairs from now until the event opens at 4 p.m. tomorrow.

I immediately wonder why the campaign chose the much smaller venue of the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium rather than the much bigger Civic Center right next door and cynically guess that he is afraid the Civic Center might not fill up. Asheville is a democratic Shangri La, I wonder why he is even coming here. I am beginning to get riled up and my conciliatory mood vanishes. And I am sure Trump won‘t be the accomodating and friendly person that he was last night. He will be here ready to fight, saying vile things about Democrats and anyone who has crossed him. And I am sure that April Owens at her 21st Trump rally will screaming with approval and having the time of her life.