American politics is fundamentally broken because, with few exceptions, a generation of American political leaders lost sight of what the business of American politics is about. Their cynicism has contaminated belief and eroded faith in American democracy. It paved the way for the rise of a demagogue like Trump, who profoundly harmed American society during his seven years of narcissistic glory, including four as President of the United States. Trump’s rise and reign were an indictment of America’s political leaders, not the American people. The truth is that most Americans find Chuck Schumer every bit as repellent as any of the cast of characters that are his opposites on the red team.
The American media is as broken and corrupt as American politics. Exceptional reporters are as rare as exceptional political leaders and ethical business leaders. The Trump industrial complex was born with laughter and phone calls as Donald Trump was given a license to lay home in bed and call into the morning talk shows for easy banter, mild insanity and thinly veiled expositions of malice towards much of the country. Looking back, it was all disgusting and deserves to be remembered as such. The media companies made billions and American business was richly rewarded for getting on board with a cause that came within an inch of toppling the Republic within five years of Trump’s escalator descent, which marked the beginning of this rancid era.
The truth is that there are no blue states and red states. There are only the United States. There are 50 states, and yesterday, I was in the 29th state, Iowa.
I came to the University of Iowa to visit my daughter, who is in her freshman year. We had come to see a football game between the University of Iowa and the University of Wisconsin on a frigid November Saturday in Kinnick Stadium.
I was with the love of my life, and I was thinking about the moment at hand. I thought about the journey that had brought us together. She’s Canadian, and this was her first Big Ten game and first trip to Iowa. We share a deep love of each other, each other’s countries and our blended family. Each time we head off to a new province, state or city, we are conscious and grateful about being able to make another stop on life’s journey and having a new shared experience. This time, it was a Big Ten football game between the great public universities of two American states situated in the heartland, and portrayed by the East Coast media as being at the precipice of civil war. It certainly didn’t feel that way.
I thought about my daughter and her journey. I thought about all of the open road ahead for her and her friends, who will likely live to the very edge, and in some cases, beyond the frontier of the 22nd century in America. I thought about their journey with no regrets about my own, and a real sense of gratitude about her happiness in the early months of her life journey away from the family and hometown where she grew up.
The 70,000 Iowa fans were dressed in black and yellow. I had gone all in as it seemed the thing to do as a father with an 19-year-old daughter at the school who I was not above embarrassing!
At the game, the man to my left hadn’t missed more than five Iowa home games in 35 years. The man behind me hadn’t missed one in 38 years. They were thrilled that our life journey had taken us to Iowa. We were welcomed with open arms and laughter. The people around us seemed astonished that this was our first Iowa game, and even more astonished that my wife had never been to Iowa and a big-time college football game. All of the people around us told us to get ready for the end of the first quarter. They told us something special was going to happen.
Game time drew closer and the Iowa Hawkeye marching band rolled onto the field. Awesome doesn’t begin to describe the energy, precision and sound of the Hawkeye Band. It is joyful and incandescent. Sir Elton John agrees. He tweeted out one of their epic performances that was dedicated to him a few weeks back.
It was Veterans Day, and 70,000 Americans roared in joy and gratitude as a US Navy sailor returned from harm’s way in East Africa and was reunited with his parents in a surprise reunion. A giant American flag was unfurled on the gridiron by a mix of veterans and ROTC cadets who will soon become part of the next generation of America’s military officer corps. The people around us took off their hats, and we all raised our voices together in the singing of the American national anthem. Rockets exploded above the field and a phalanx of US Army helicopters, two Chinooks and two Black Hawks flew overhead.
The man on my left asked if I had been to Iowa. I said yes, many times. I told him I thought I had been to most of the 99 counties in the state. He asked what I did. I told him. He asked if I was a Republican or Democrat. I laughed and said both. I told him that I was a Republican who had worked for Bush, Schwarzenegger and McCain and founded the Lincoln Project to help beat Trump. He said he was a Republican, but was done with Trump. He said “F#@K TRUMP.” He said that he was crazy, and then asked if I wanted a beer. The conversation drifted back to football and the teams struggled against one another throughout the first quarter until the clock expired.
There is a sleek, modern and architecturally arresting building that rises above the stadium at the University of Iowa. It is the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.
The game had begun with 70,000 Americans cheering the honorary kid captain of the game. He was a little boy who had endured more than 30 surgeries after a lawnmower accident. His journey took him to a brutal place. He persevered. He was being celebrated and he was given the honor of picking the song that would play at the end of the first quarter when 70,000 people waved towards the windows of the hospital. The sick kids on the other side were waving back, their handmade signs clearly visible in the window. The man on my left said it was one of the greatest hospitals in the world. He told me his 10-year-old daughter died of childhood cancer there. We both waved at the kids, and everyone cried together. It was among the most beautiful moments of my life. My journey had connected with 70,000 others, and together we were lifting up the people who needed it the most: sick American kids who helped remind all of us in a moment who we are — which is a good people and a kind people.
The sum of the United States is not the measure of the worst among us, but rather the recognition that the majority of Americans are hardworking, loving people in pursuit of happiness, and that they are filled with laughter and joy.
The American media has sold a cartoon version of America as a dark and angry place. It’s not true. It’s a lie.
American politicians have sold out the American people by putting a corrupt gaggle of elites at the head of national interest — at the expense of the people who are the source of national power.
The American people voted for democracy on Tuesday. They very narrowly rejected an extremist movement and gaggle of extremist candidates.
American politics and American media are a corrupted and entangled billion-dollar industry that is harming the fabric of American society. Yet it isn’t real. It’s a chimera. What’s real is an Iowa football game — not the Fox News set or the headquarters of the other contempt industries.
The American people are good. The people of Iowa are good people. During life’s journey, Americans love, laugh, cry, mourn, celebrate, live and die. We are a free people, and will not be divided by the cancers injected into our society by the worst and greediest among us. Sometimes it takes a football game to remember that America is us and not its elected politicians, billionaires and media titans.
Sometimes it takes a football game to remember that America is us
>>> The truth is that most Americans find Chuck Schumer every bit as repellent as any of the cast of characters that are his opposites on the red team. >>>
This is not credible Steve. This both-sides narrative is rubbish. Dislike Chuck Schumer all you like but he never tried to replace democracy with autocracy no matter how many corporate donors he had. It is not the same. The American people know this and I thought you did too. Perhaps you’ve gained your optimism as you previously said but IMHO, this post suggests you may have lost your bearings.
Tears. Incredible essay. Thank you. I especially love that you don’t share who won the game. Nice touch. I love The Warning.