DMB Digest: Gov'ment, get off my lawn!

And take all your trendy political movements with ya!

I love irony. Not ironing. I hate ironing. That stuff is ridiculous. Who invented clothes that has to be heated and steamed smooth on a board before it can go on your body? I mean, I know I have ironing board abs and all… (bwahaha. I tried, but I couldn’t pull that one off with a straight face.)

But irony? I’m all about it. My favorite bit of irony this week came when my oldest son and I were discussing a chapter of Rick Steves’ book, Travel as a Political Act. (I posted a while back about my “reading club with Dad” Christmas present to my boys.) The book is sort of a travel, history, memoir type of thing. It’s a solid read that while written at the front end of the first Trump term, still feels relevant and timely today (for some weird reason).

We came across a section in the book highlighting current European trends toward Populism and Nativism. I asked my son if he understood the concepts. He nailed Nativism with some snarky answer like, “Meh. If you’re enough like me, I like you. If you’re different, I don’t.” I figured he encapsulated the spirit close enough for me to let his definition stand unaltered…other than for me to add that Nativism typically takes on an anti-immigrant vibe. As Moe Syzlack of The Simpsons would say about immigrants,

“Those Immigants! They wants all the benefits of living in Springfield, but they ain't even bother to learn themselves the language.”

Then I asked my eldest son if he understood Populism. He mumbled before guessing, “Something based on who is the most popular?” Okay. It’s possible he skimmed through parts of the chapter. Who among us hasn’t made the same strategic decision upon occasion?

My follow up question: “Dude, did you even see all the hilarious Nativist slogans from European countries?” It was apparent, he had missed the whole section in question, or he would have mentioned some of the slogans by now. I had him open the book and locate them. (Importantly, I was driving at the moment, and not him.) My two favorites were, “A Hunger for a More Hungarian Hungary” and “Keep France white and French.” Having broken the tension with a bit of humor, I continued with my basic definition of Populism: an anti-elitist political movement driven by a bunch of regular, everyday Joes who feel like they ain’t been heard.

Now here is where we enjoyed the irony bit. I suggested to my son that Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaigns had been built around a Populist strategy. He snorted and choked on his Cherry Lemonade Slushie with Nerds. After recovering, he asked, “Wait, you’re saying American’s think Donald trump is an everyday guy, and not a member of the elite?”

I maintained a straight face and nodded. “Yes. Many American’s believe Trump is a Populist candidate who represents the common person’s interests.”

He gave me his classic Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson single-eyebrow-raise and asked, “Why? He’s like the classic rich, elite, white guy.” Here is where I needed to show restraint. As a parent, I don’t believe it is my place to tell my kids what to think. Of course, I influence them. It would be impossible for me not to. At times, I need to push hard to demonstrate there are other streams of thought that exist, because the majority of our society pretends they do not.

Internally, my first thoughts in response to my son’s comment were, “Sure, but he speaks like a relatable redneck longshoreman.” But since this statement would verge on slander, and I value my freedom, I shrugged and asked him what he knew about the civil services. It was enough for me to let the conversation wind its way forward from there as we discussed the differences between European governance and American governance and how Trump’s early actions attempting to shrink the civil services might play out moving forward. (This conversation remained academic due to the fact that my son has remained sheltered from the contractions thus far.)

To wrap-up our discussion, I repeated that it is important for us to understand terms such as Nativism and Populism correctly. If we don’t know what the words mean, we won’t recognize the strategies. If we don’t recognize the strategies, then we can’t evaluate political campaigns and political movements intelligently. In that case, we become passive chumps being predated upon by professional strategists and campaigners who utilize fear and anger to get us to believe whatever they want. Perhaps a member of the wealthy elite acting in a manner to shore up more power for himself will benefit the common, everyday citizen in an overall shimmering act of selflessness and the ultimate laying down of power. Perhaps undemocratic means will serve ultimate democratic ends. Perhaps violence will lead to peace. Shock to awe. Perhaps.

For now, I’m enjoying a bit of well-steeped irony tea with my kids.

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