On the Road
The late Charles Kuralt, CBS news correspondent, did a series of reports as he traveled the highways and byways of America. He would invariably find a newsworthy gem off the beaten path about the country he loved which would appear on the CBS Evening News anchored by Walter Cronkite. While this blogger is not in the same class as that legendary journalist, his travels in a RV came to mind while motoring across the nation to the Midwest.
Following Route 66, the Mother Road, as closely as possible, a left turn at Williams, Arizona to the Grand Canyon is a must. The views, magnificent and awe inspiring as always, but the real take away came from engaging with those who had never seen this national treasure. Even in a time of pandemic, Americans I met were the majestic ones. A couple from Ohio, a Norte Dame graduate, and an Ohio State buckeye alum. She was white and he was black. Great smiles, great love of country and great winning personalities that obliterated the “this is a racist nation” blather that emanates from the unhinged progressive provocateurs. They were Americans, no label needed.
Labeling citizens contributes to the division and polarization that’s far worse than the pandemic. The real epidemic is the constant stream of rhetoric from the progressives, working their butts off to realize their dream of a socialist national make over. The problem is that these loons don’t live in the heartland. The Birkenstock wearing pseudo intellectuals, ensconced in a big city co-op, are truly clueless. It’s almost like they wouldn’t know the difference between the Grand Canyon National Park and Grand Central Station. Certainly, they must believe that their food is grown at the local Kroger’s. They all need a road trip and civics lesson.
Travels through the heartland of America revealed that the country is overflowing with folks of good will and intentions, who look with an experienced eye at the political intelligentsia and know they’re full of bullshot. They are the silent majority. They have figured out that the pandemic, while serious, has been overblown and want to get to “normality” sooner rather than later. Dr. Fauci is viewed with derision according to the folks met while on the road. Dr. Phony and Dr. Faker were just few of the nicknames heard.
The stories one hears about the freedom in the “red” states vs the oppression in the “blue” states are real. Driving from red to blue, the difference is palatable. Red is a happy place and blue…well that could be the rebirth of the blues. A lot of sour grumbling about the kids not in school, wearing a mask everywhere one goes, restaurants and recreation operations barely running. Their anger at blue state officials is real. The partisan hacks who blindly follow mandates from a Washington regime that’s out of touch with reality and deny non-government sponsored scientific facts.
“Here’s the deal”, as Joe would say. Outside of the DC Beltway and the Hollywood/New York smug elitist bubble, Americans are fed up with four months of Biden’s baloney about the pandemic, to mask or not to mask, claims that the economy is improving, ignoring the crises at southern border and that he’s not raising taxes. People know that last year at this time, gas was a buck cheaper and plywood didn’t cost $100.00 a sheet.
Take a road trip. As you drive across the Great American Plain states, the stark beauty of the landscape unfolds. The Nation’s breadbasket is a sight to behold, only ruined now and then, by the mechanical pollution of giant windmills barely turning or standing fallow. Hard to fathom that the bubble elites think these bird killers will solve national electrical needs. Discover the beauty and greatness of our homeland. The majesty of the Rockies as you pass through the Eisenhower Tunnel on Interstate 70, an engineering masterpiece over the Continental Divide at 11,000 feet above sea level is breathtaking.
America is not the country described by the Media pundits and Government officials, including those at the pinnacle of leadership. Most of them have only seen the country from a 35,000-foot window seat.
Get on the road. See your country. Appreciate its greatness.