ITHACA, NEW YORK ¨C Perhaps the most troubling aspect of a Trump presidency is not the man¡¯s big-headed, pig-headed penchant for self-promotion, but the shock wave of hate he has awakened. Americans are stressed and politically distressed, expressing anger in vulgar, bipolar ways.
I observed the current electoral cycle from Ithaca, an upstate New York town that voted 85 percent for Hillary Clinton, with a smattering of votes for independent Jill Stein and others. But the familiarity of one¡¯s immediate environs can be deceiving, for one only has to drive a few minutes out of this liberal university community and then it¡¯s Trump country for hundreds of miles in every direction.
People on this little blue island in a big red sea are worried about the political waves to come. Already there was a ¡°cry-in¡± on campus and a mourning vigil on the downtown commons. Local cafes played comfort music, mostly 1960s rock and folk ballads such as ¡°This Land is Your Land¡± while doling out extra servings of comfort food. I was in the public library on the day after the U.S. election looking for books on the history of fascism when an old, white-haired woman came up to me, expressing fears about the future.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.