Cornball
Yeah, yeah, I’ve always been a fan of Bob Greene’s books. Stuff like When We Get To Surf City, his account of touring with the surf duo Jan and Dean, and Chevrolet Summers And Dairy Queen Nights. I also like Duty: A Father, His Son, And The Man Who Won The War, which was about his old man. My favorite is the one he wrote about an old buddy. It’s called And You Know You Should Be Glad: A True Story Of Lifelong Friendship.
Every now and then Bob throws a short piece on the editorial pages of the Wall Street Journal. His latest referenced a front-page headline in the Cleveland Press which read “All Of Nation Rallies To Johnson’s Support.” That edition ran on November 23 ,1963 and was meant to signify the country coming together to support the new president after the assassination of JFK.
In his Journal column, Bob Greene added a subhead: “A Headline From The Forgotten America of 1963. Can The Country Ever Unite Again?” Good question.
Greene feels that the 1963 headline would anger people today, when it seems like no one can agree on anything. He points to the evening of September 11, 2001, as the last time the country came together like that. On that night, more than 100 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle gathered shoulder to shoulder on the front steps of the Capital and sang “God Bless America.” Kind of a cornball thing, but it was sincere. It didn’t last, Pop Tate.
Christ, today if you have a different political point of view from your longtime friends, there’s a good chance they ain’t gonna be your friends no more. I don’t buy into that. Friendship is more important than politics, Klinkers Carney. No matter what.
But I gotta say, things feel a little different after Election Day last Tuesday. People seem to be turning away from the “crazy” a bit. The losers were even gracious enough to offer concession speeches. Whoa, Jackson!
Hey, I’ve said this before. America wants America back. Maybe we sawed the edge off some of the anger and violence. Who knows, maybe we're gonna start reconnecting with each other again. I said “maybe.”
Hey, you can’t trust politicians, institutions, or the media. So that means it’s you and me, babe.
Keep your dukes up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BERd61bDY7k
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