Peggy Noonan’s pre-election column in the Wall Street Journal last weekend was defiantly optimistic. She despaired of the choice – finding fault with both candidates – but took solace from the fact that the nation’s institutions were strong and would survive whatever happened on Tuesday. As would our democracy, which she claimed was in extremely good health.
I wish I shared her optimism. For an effective democracy you need a well-educated citizenry, and our schools have been in decline for decades. A lot of the campaign speeches were about the supposed dangers of a porous border while nobody talked about the obvious damage to a society when it pays its teachers so poorly that few people want to – or can afford to – enter the profession.
Add to a failed education system a declining sense of community – which inevitably results in a rise in self-interest – and you have two essential ingredients for national decline.
I watched the debate last night while simultaneously reading comments on X. Invariably, liberals praised the moderators – David Muir and Linsey Davis – for doing an excellent job, while conservatives complained that they were clearly biased toward Trump and favoring Harris.
I saw the conservatives’ point. But I also wondered if bias toward Trump is really a bias or simply a healthy human response.
Yesterday I went to the frame shop to pick up a picture. A “NEVER SURRENDER” poster of Donald Trump lay on the counter, left by the previous customer.
“People are bringing Trump things in all the time,” the woman behind the counter said. “They ask if I can frame them, and I say, ‘Yes, but it will cost you double.’
“I’m just kidding,” she said.
Watching the Republican response to the State of the Union address last night, my immediate thought was: When did Congresspeople start taking acting lessons?
Sunday we skirted the demonstrators and headed to Ann’s Florist and Coffee Bar, where we read the Wall Street Journal. (Our own, bought at Bob’s News earlier, though the café usually has a copy lying around.) On the op-ed page, Peggy Noonan noted the generational divide in this country with regard to the conflict in Gaza, with younger people tending to side with the Palestinians, and older people tending to support the Israelis.
This seemed accurate, and predictable. The young are more radical than the old, siding generally with the oppressed – perhaps because that’s how they see themselves. Though being victims of rape and torture would seem to qualify Israelis for that designation as well. While older people have more experience and, dare I say, wisdom.