The Grapes of Wrath
and welcome to the resistance...
I was at the Marion County courthouse last night as the election results came in. In the above photo, people await local results, as is our tradition. Our county auditor is my friend Jake Grandia. In the center is my friend Jared Harmon, county attorney. They are both Republicans. Every day they do their best to make the world a better place.
Donald Trump, who will be our next president, not so much.
As I said I would probably do, I stopped by the A&P for a drink before heading to the courthouse and Marion County Democratic headquarters.
We watched the results come in.
Thanks to all of our election workers, from county employees, poll workers, and volunteers.
I was wrong. Women didn’t save democracy. While I was proud to write those words yesterday, in retrospect they shouldn’t have had to bear that responsibility. Of course not. While those words seem off the mark now, I saw women as inspirational and as our greatest hope to bring victory. They did their best. We did our best.
Maybe Trump won’t suspend the constitution as he has contemplated. Maybe he won’t seek retribution against political apponents as he has promised. Maybe he won’t target the media. Maybe he won’t do mass deportations. Maybe he won’t target our LGBTQ+ community. Maybe he won’t abandon Ukraine. Maybe he won’t align us with the new axis emerging among Russia, China, and North Korea as I fear he will. I could go on and on.
Today, I fear that anyone who isn’t a straight white male is less safe. Our wives, girlfriends, daughters and granddaughters are less safe. Especially those of varying shades of brown. And we need to remember this really isn’t about Trump. It’s about the vision of those who created Project 2025 and the oligarchs. Trump is their tool as they seek to build a white “Christian” nationalist theocracy.
Right now I’m thinking about what we need to do. And I’m thinking about Tom Joad, the protagonist in John Steinbeck’s great American novel “The Grapes of Wrath” from 1939.
Here’s one summary:
“Near the end of Steinbeck’s novel, the protagonist Joad — inspired by the Christ-like Preacher Casy, and on the run for his life — gives a farewell speech to his “Ma.” His words go like this:
“Well, maybe like Casy says, a fella ain’t got a soul of his own, but on’y a piece of a big one — an’ then—“
“Then what, Tom?”
“Then it don’ matter. Then I’ll be all aroun’ in the dark. I’ll be everywhere — wherever you look. Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there. Wherever they’s a cop beatin’ up a guy, I’ll be there. If Casy knowed, why, I’ll be in the way guys yell when they’re mad an’ — I’ll be in the way kids laugh when they’re hungry an’ they know supper’s ready. An’ when our folks eat the stuff they raise an’ live in the houses they build–why, I’ll be there. See?”
Woody Guthrie put it to song:
“Ever’body might be just one big soul
Well it looks that a-way to me
Everywhere that you look, in the day or night
That’s where I’m a-gonna be, Ma
That’s where I’m a-gonna be
Wherever little children are hungry and cry
Wherever people ain’t free
Wherever men are fightin’ for their rights
That’s where I’m a-gonna be, Ma
That’s where I’m a-gonna be”
Here’s Henry Fonda’s version in the movie:
And like Tom Joad, that’s where I’m a-gonna be.
Take my hand.
I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. Subscribe! Become a paid subscriber if you can afford it. Please and thank you. We need you. Thanks for being part of the team! Want to buy me lunch or a cup of coffee? Venmo @Robert-Leonard-238. My friend Spencer Dirks and I have a podcast titled the Iowa Revolution. Check it out! We can get ornery. And have fun! I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.
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As it happens, I've been listening to "East of Eden" on audiobook. Steinbeck is a gem. An entirely appropriate response. There is also much wisdom to be found in Lewis's "Babbitt." The echoes between the 1920s and the 2020s are uncanny.
I was wrong too, Bob. The fear, misinformation and hate were greater than we knew. Too great for a black woman President.
Thank you for your words, your honesty. Today we reflect. Tomorrow we stand back up.
Taking your hand.