Today my father is on my mind. So is Donald Trump.
I built a wall two years ago to keep him out of my head. But it’s hard to stop an avalanche.
You can’t build an embargo strong enough to keep out 37 felony counts against a former president. You can’t ignore a horde of screeching barbarians ready to destroy democracy in order to “save” it.
Trump’s on my mind today. I wish he weren’t. He doesn’t belong in the same league, room, or sentence with my father.
My father was the son of a coal miner. His father immigrated from Prussia where he’d been a subject of a king. My grandfather was grateful to become a citizen of a democratic nation. He loved the United States and worked hard to make it strong and prosperous. He was still a young man when he died.
He left nothing behind for his children but his character. My father took that and built on it.
My father was kind, honest, industrious, polite, and decent. If you were down and out, he was at your side. If others derided you, he defended you. He gave his word and kept it. Always. Everyone knew it.
My father was a Democrat. He thought unions made America a better place. He worked long and hard on the railroad to keep his family and his country safe and strong. He revered the American flag; he didn’t worship, hug, or kiss it. He disdained slackers, cheaters, phonies, liars, and bullies.
I once asked my father what the difference was between the two parties. He told me that Republicans look after the businessman and the Democrats look after the working man. (Remember those days?)
My father loved FDR for saving our country. He voted for Truman and Carter and then, surprisingly, for Reagan and Bush. He measured the man, not the party. Character mattered to him. I’m pretty sure he didn’t vote for Clinton but would have voted for Obama. He died in 1997.
I did wonder once whether my father would somehow have sided with Trump. But in writing this piece I uncovered the answer.
My father disdained slackers, cheaters, phonies, liars, and bullies.
My father was a Christian.
It’s disheartening to me that so many Christians aren’t.
