A letter criticizing columnist John Sheirer is correct about one thing: We have, in this country, a Red-Blue divide. This is made worse, I believe, by a right-coast left-coast thing. If you want to go anywhere in the U.S., you are likely to fly from point A to point B, gliding over vast swaths of territory without ever meeting any people who live there.
The Letcher County connection seeks to bridge the divide. Another, smaller antidote to alienation is to take the train. Amtrak still has community seating in the dining car on its western routes. A traveler may break bread with folks they would never have occasion to speak with otherwise, and may sometimes get an earful.
On a recent trip, I was seated at breakfast with a young Amish couple who were returning from surgery with a specialist out of state, and a non-Amish older man from another locale. The older guy hated Trump, especially on immigration; but Trump might get his vote, with the economy doing well, and because Democrats are a bunch of socialists. The Amish husband believed that Trump is doing well, saying: Look at how much more Trump has accomplished than Obama ever did. My contribution was that people who think well of Trump don’t really know him. I am afraid that comment may have come across as a little snooty.
A question to ask is, from where do people get their information. My bet is the Amish man, a buggy maker, doesn’t read a paper, much less watch TV. I expect he may listen to non-Amish friends whose understanding comes from right-wing media, including the avowedly biased Entertainment Division of Fox News. How to reach these folks, I don’t know, but think John Sheirer has clues. He comes from a Red State kind of background, and his columns suggest he is in conversation with contacts outside the liberal/progressive bubble.
I am always grateful for a Sheirer column the Gazette published after the 2016 election, that included this gentle jest: “Two Corinthians walked into a bar….”
Mary Hall
South Hadley