re: #227 Interesting Times

Ugh, West Virginia is well and truly fucked in the head. And North Dakota is right behind them - that makes me nervous for both Manchin and Heitkamp (i.e. can they still win if Cheeto Benito’s approval ratings remain so high in those states come November?)

Today’s column by David Brooks is surprisingly readable, and actually makes sense (think ‘blind pig/acorn’). He analogizes the division between the 500 counties that welcomed diversity (and went for Clinton) and the 2900 that remained really white (and went for Trump) to the division between West and East Germany.

After the war, one part chose Capitalism and the other Communism. After 40 years, it was obvious which one worked, and which didn’t. Similarly, the 500 counties with the greatest diversity, and the largest number of immigrants have been the economic driver of the country, while the 2900 that stayed white have lagged behind.

Beyond simple diversity or lack thereof, though, there’s another issue I’ve talked about before - willingness to leave your comfort zone to make a better life. The 500 counties are chock full of people who went out in search of something better. The 2900, OTOH are full of people who think that prosperity should come and find them. Remember, these include those idiots in Coal Country who turned down retraining because Trump was going to bring back Coal.

That’s why Trump kept talking about “Bringing Back Coal” as a touchstone - it epitomizes the prosperity that comes to you, that you don’t have to move someplace else to claim. All you need do is wait, and the mine will reopen and you can get your old job back.