I turn off the news every morning at 9 and turn on KXCV in Maryville. Rhythm and Roots has an eclectic play list that I totally love!
Thank you for sharing your music. Anxiety is graphic and soul wrenching.
The two men you talked to repeat the same garbage filled crap that comes from those opinionated non- journalists that they listen to. Nothing original. They are safe because they are privileged white men.
I appreciate you and all the white males who have empathy and use their privilege to make the world a better place.
"There’s more trauma in the world than most of us can handle." Yes. It's the hatred that breaks my heart the most. Thanks for this, Bob. And for tracking the MAGA and Fox info. I just can’t do it.
Time spent with Jerry is time well spent. Just as time talking with everyone I spoke with at the Capitol demonstration was. But honestly your ability to listen to Fox and other MAGA media for more than a few short intervals, convinces me that you’re qualified for a diplomatic position or elementary school teacher. You do take breaks while listening to the truth deniers right? At least on radio.
I try to listen during one of my daily 20 minute trips to either Knoxville, Oskaloosa, Pella, or sometimes Albia. Sometimes the lies frustrate me, and I turn to Johanna’s music. I do look at the Fox “News” website a couple of times a day too.
I still treasure the cassette playlist my oldest son created for me decades ago—a birthday or Father's Day gift from when cassettes were cutting-edge technology. Those songs remain etched in my memory, each one a reminder of his thoughtfulness and that moment when he wanted to share his musical world with his dad.
Your conversation with Trump supporters was illuminating to read, though undoubtedly painful for those of us who share Bob Leonard's political perspective. It's the kind of difficult dialogue essential for understanding the deep divisions we're navigating.
Once we actually listen to opposing views, we move ever so slightly toward reaching some common ground, even if only a scintilla. I find that I actually feel better personally after such exchanges, though they can be emotionally draining.
I have some news for the Trump supporters you talked to. We could sit down and drink a keg of beer and I doubt we would find anything we agree on. After five minutes I would be ready to go home and take a shower. They claim they aren't racists? Assuming for the sake of argument they aren't (and I don't), they are supporting Trump and Steve Miller who are definitely racists. And if they think they are not, then they don't even know what a racist is.
They love Hispanic people and believe Trump has made us safer? Safer for who? Tell that to the kids whose parents didn't come home because they were grabbed by ICE--people who have worked in this country and paid taxes for ten years or more. Tell that to the mothers who Trump stole their kids and didn't even bother to keep track of where they were taken. The US citizens being grabbed because they have brown skin. The 19 year old who came to this country as a 4 year old and who is now in ICE detention--yes, the private for profit ICE detention center that pays Tom Homan. The Hispanic people you supposedly love are terrorized and living in fear--thanks for your kindness. Iowa nice.
And that brings me to the No Kings protest. More than 5 million people nationwide who think like I do. At these protests you can talk to and relate to any one of these people. They immediately feel like friends--because they are. At least for a few hours of the day we aren't surrounded by people who are just fine with cruelty, incompetence, corruption and the erosion of democracy. Thousands of people who understand.
So go to the next protest to resist, but also go to give yourself a break from the madness of your co-worker with the MAGA hat. Go make some new friends. It's therapy. Just reading the signs is therapy. Making the signs is therapy. I like the woman and her sign that said "Dump your MAGA Boyfriend." Finally, somebody who realizes trying to convert these people is a waste of time. Resist and move on without them.
Appreciate what you do to speak out and to try to work through this madness. So many of us can relate to your passion for justice and your need to just take a break and get away from it all. Lot's of us empty nesters still have a place in our heart for the songs our children listened to and we can totally relate to your radio presets you haven't changed. I have never met you or your children, but I know why those presets haven't been changed. Music is such a powerful tool that can bring back so many memories. The joy of great times of the past mixed with the sorrow that they are over. Smiles and tears in the same lonely car ride. We know EXACTLY what you are talking about. We have the ability to feel the emotions that someone else is feeling.
Which brings me to what makes a No Kings Protest different than a Trump rally. Nearly all of us at a No Kings protest can relate to a mother who has had her child taken from her or the children whose parents won't be coming home. We can feel their pain. We can empathize with them. Us old codgers at the protest care about what NASA has said that Iowa is one of the three or four states where summers will be so hot 50 years from now you won't be able to survive if you are outside for more than a couple hours. We will have long since died, because, as you know, we have been told we are all going to die, so now we know, but we still care. Trump doesn't. Global warming isn't going to affect him. He's nearly 80 years old. So he doesn't care. We care about whether government land in Alaska is sold off to oil companies, destroying wilderness areas. Most of us will never travel to Alaska, but we still care. A politician can get our votes by appealing to us regarding the pain being inflicted on somebody else. Try that with a MAGA.
The people at a No Kings rally are fundamentally different than those attending a Trump rally. I'm not going into it in such limited space, but there is a difference. I know the five million people who attended No Kings rallies know what I am talking about. Lots of signs there critical of ICE. In most, if not all cases, I bet the person who was holding it was a US Citizen. We don't want the economy to crash, but for many of us, we see that as the only way out of this mess. When 5-10 percent of MAGA's figure out that Trump is causing THEM economic harm hopefully the tide will turn. There, I said the quiet part out loud.
Until then, once in a while we just need a break, a distraction, and be left alone to listen to our presets.
Unfortunately many, and the election showed it, the country could not continue on the path it was. Trump was the one who had best ideas at the time, we needed a person who had brass and showed more love for the county than the former president. When having to make major changes for overall good someone will always get bit, some or a lot. Yes he's making some mistakes, probably who wouldn't?
What good idea has Trump ever had? His cabinet of incompetents? His crypto corruption? His cruelty that IS the policy? Ending the war in Ukraine and in the Middle East on his first day in office? Turning the military against US Citizens? Disappearing people who came to the US as 4 year olds and deporting them to a country they have never lived in while claiming he is deporting murderers and rapists? Don't confuse lies with good ideas. There is a difference.
Thank you for this coverage. I was out of the country and seeing the press on CNN and online was helpful but you brought it to life. I appreciated the music references.
Thanks for the radio story and the "Anxiety" video. Both lovely and timely.
Unlike the Women's March and other protests, I felt a real sense of joy and community on Saturday at No Kings in Ames, Iowa. I felt even more joy this year at Capital City Pride in Des Moines. So many families brought their children to the parade. The kids didn't even care that One Iowa ran out of candy. They were dancing, and smiling and for one day at least, just being kids. They wore their favorite rainbow clothing, face paint, just being who they are and being happy. It was delicious to feel joy again.
Speaking of music - I grew up in the 1960s and still listen to those songs on the radio - now called oldies or classic radio. Thanks to Sirius XM, I can listen to that music the whole trip, only to interrupt myself with occasional news. That gives me a better perspective on life. Also my adult kids like oldies, probably because I set the radio buttons when they were little.
Of the two Trump supporters you spoke with, "[one] told me his number one issue was safety." If that is his mindset, he needs to be most careful when among his like-minded brethren. It is they who will hurt him.
All of our brains work differently so it is hard to understand why many cannot comprehend that we are once again in the dark ages. Reading your comments and those of others like you helps me to at least keep mine working somewhat. I'm not finding a lot of soothing new music being played but I do like the sound of the birds in my now very wild backyard.
Jim, here: Yes, these are the Trump Dark Ages —terribly so. I find it increasingly difficult & nauseating to listen to the news stories and their related images. News sources find themselves with few choices but to oppose Trump; if America seeks to have a "free press". I identify in heart, mind, spirit, and soul with the pictures of the people in the pictures — this is how spiritually and emotionally stretched & stressed out I am. When Tucker Carlson openly opposes POTUS 47 and the likes of Senator Ted Cruz - what in the name of Heaven & Hell is wrong with a GOP that finds itself hamstrung by a single self-righteous individual.
I turn off the news every morning at 9 and turn on KXCV in Maryville. Rhythm and Roots has an eclectic play list that I totally love!
Thank you for sharing your music. Anxiety is graphic and soul wrenching.
The two men you talked to repeat the same garbage filled crap that comes from those opinionated non- journalists that they listen to. Nothing original. They are safe because they are privileged white men.
I appreciate you and all the white males who have empathy and use their privilege to make the world a better place.
Turn on KXCV 90.5 fm you’ll be glad you did.
"There’s more trauma in the world than most of us can handle." Yes. It's the hatred that breaks my heart the most. Thanks for this, Bob. And for tracking the MAGA and Fox info. I just can’t do it.
👍🏻
Time spent with Jerry is time well spent. Just as time talking with everyone I spoke with at the Capitol demonstration was. But honestly your ability to listen to Fox and other MAGA media for more than a few short intervals, convinces me that you’re qualified for a diplomatic position or elementary school teacher. You do take breaks while listening to the truth deniers right? At least on radio.
I try to listen during one of my daily 20 minute trips to either Knoxville, Oskaloosa, Pella, or sometimes Albia. Sometimes the lies frustrate me, and I turn to Johanna’s music. I do look at the Fox “News” website a couple of times a day too.
I still treasure the cassette playlist my oldest son created for me decades ago—a birthday or Father's Day gift from when cassettes were cutting-edge technology. Those songs remain etched in my memory, each one a reminder of his thoughtfulness and that moment when he wanted to share his musical world with his dad.
Your conversation with Trump supporters was illuminating to read, though undoubtedly painful for those of us who share Bob Leonard's political perspective. It's the kind of difficult dialogue essential for understanding the deep divisions we're navigating.
Once we actually listen to opposing views, we move ever so slightly toward reaching some common ground, even if only a scintilla. I find that I actually feel better personally after such exchanges, though they can be emotionally draining.
I have some news for the Trump supporters you talked to. We could sit down and drink a keg of beer and I doubt we would find anything we agree on. After five minutes I would be ready to go home and take a shower. They claim they aren't racists? Assuming for the sake of argument they aren't (and I don't), they are supporting Trump and Steve Miller who are definitely racists. And if they think they are not, then they don't even know what a racist is.
They love Hispanic people and believe Trump has made us safer? Safer for who? Tell that to the kids whose parents didn't come home because they were grabbed by ICE--people who have worked in this country and paid taxes for ten years or more. Tell that to the mothers who Trump stole their kids and didn't even bother to keep track of where they were taken. The US citizens being grabbed because they have brown skin. The 19 year old who came to this country as a 4 year old and who is now in ICE detention--yes, the private for profit ICE detention center that pays Tom Homan. The Hispanic people you supposedly love are terrorized and living in fear--thanks for your kindness. Iowa nice.
And that brings me to the No Kings protest. More than 5 million people nationwide who think like I do. At these protests you can talk to and relate to any one of these people. They immediately feel like friends--because they are. At least for a few hours of the day we aren't surrounded by people who are just fine with cruelty, incompetence, corruption and the erosion of democracy. Thousands of people who understand.
So go to the next protest to resist, but also go to give yourself a break from the madness of your co-worker with the MAGA hat. Go make some new friends. It's therapy. Just reading the signs is therapy. Making the signs is therapy. I like the woman and her sign that said "Dump your MAGA Boyfriend." Finally, somebody who realizes trying to convert these people is a waste of time. Resist and move on without them.
So powerful, Ray. Thanks.
Appreciate what you do to speak out and to try to work through this madness. So many of us can relate to your passion for justice and your need to just take a break and get away from it all. Lot's of us empty nesters still have a place in our heart for the songs our children listened to and we can totally relate to your radio presets you haven't changed. I have never met you or your children, but I know why those presets haven't been changed. Music is such a powerful tool that can bring back so many memories. The joy of great times of the past mixed with the sorrow that they are over. Smiles and tears in the same lonely car ride. We know EXACTLY what you are talking about. We have the ability to feel the emotions that someone else is feeling.
Which brings me to what makes a No Kings Protest different than a Trump rally. Nearly all of us at a No Kings protest can relate to a mother who has had her child taken from her or the children whose parents won't be coming home. We can feel their pain. We can empathize with them. Us old codgers at the protest care about what NASA has said that Iowa is one of the three or four states where summers will be so hot 50 years from now you won't be able to survive if you are outside for more than a couple hours. We will have long since died, because, as you know, we have been told we are all going to die, so now we know, but we still care. Trump doesn't. Global warming isn't going to affect him. He's nearly 80 years old. So he doesn't care. We care about whether government land in Alaska is sold off to oil companies, destroying wilderness areas. Most of us will never travel to Alaska, but we still care. A politician can get our votes by appealing to us regarding the pain being inflicted on somebody else. Try that with a MAGA.
The people at a No Kings rally are fundamentally different than those attending a Trump rally. I'm not going into it in such limited space, but there is a difference. I know the five million people who attended No Kings rallies know what I am talking about. Lots of signs there critical of ICE. In most, if not all cases, I bet the person who was holding it was a US Citizen. We don't want the economy to crash, but for many of us, we see that as the only way out of this mess. When 5-10 percent of MAGA's figure out that Trump is causing THEM economic harm hopefully the tide will turn. There, I said the quiet part out loud.
Until then, once in a while we just need a break, a distraction, and be left alone to listen to our presets.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful response. Adds much substance to my post, which is deeply appreciated. Your different lens is most welcome.
Unfortunately many, and the election showed it, the country could not continue on the path it was. Trump was the one who had best ideas at the time, we needed a person who had brass and showed more love for the county than the former president. When having to make major changes for overall good someone will always get bit, some or a lot. Yes he's making some mistakes, probably who wouldn't?
What good idea has Trump ever had? His cabinet of incompetents? His crypto corruption? His cruelty that IS the policy? Ending the war in Ukraine and in the Middle East on his first day in office? Turning the military against US Citizens? Disappearing people who came to the US as 4 year olds and deporting them to a country they have never lived in while claiming he is deporting murderers and rapists? Don't confuse lies with good ideas. There is a difference.
Thank you for this coverage. I was out of the country and seeing the press on CNN and online was helpful but you brought it to life. I appreciated the music references.
Thanks for the radio story and the "Anxiety" video. Both lovely and timely.
Unlike the Women's March and other protests, I felt a real sense of joy and community on Saturday at No Kings in Ames, Iowa. I felt even more joy this year at Capital City Pride in Des Moines. So many families brought their children to the parade. The kids didn't even care that One Iowa ran out of candy. They were dancing, and smiling and for one day at least, just being kids. They wore their favorite rainbow clothing, face paint, just being who they are and being happy. It was delicious to feel joy again.
Speaking of music - I grew up in the 1960s and still listen to those songs on the radio - now called oldies or classic radio. Thanks to Sirius XM, I can listen to that music the whole trip, only to interrupt myself with occasional news. That gives me a better perspective on life. Also my adult kids like oldies, probably because I set the radio buttons when they were little.
But I love that you let your kids do that!
Best news I've heard for awhile: "my radio dials remain tuned to her presets,"
“After all, ultimately why do we protest? Out of love.” Thank you, Robert Leonard!
Of the two Trump supporters you spoke with, "[one] told me his number one issue was safety." If that is his mindset, he needs to be most careful when among his like-minded brethren. It is they who will hurt him.
All of our brains work differently so it is hard to understand why many cannot comprehend that we are once again in the dark ages. Reading your comments and those of others like you helps me to at least keep mine working somewhat. I'm not finding a lot of soothing new music being played but I do like the sound of the birds in my now very wild backyard.
Jim, here: Yes, these are the Trump Dark Ages —terribly so. I find it increasingly difficult & nauseating to listen to the news stories and their related images. News sources find themselves with few choices but to oppose Trump; if America seeks to have a "free press". I identify in heart, mind, spirit, and soul with the pictures of the people in the pictures — this is how spiritually and emotionally stretched & stressed out I am. When Tucker Carlson openly opposes POTUS 47 and the likes of Senator Ted Cruz - what in the name of Heaven & Hell is wrong with a GOP that finds itself hamstrung by a single self-righteous individual.
There’s also instant gratification on social media. Just find a “feed” that supports your preferences.