I compose this column on a deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean in a seaside town of Newport, Oregon. I have just returned from the Lincoln County Fair, a mini-festival of vendors, livestock auctions, and country music, a venue that cried out to me, loud and clear: “You are not in Leverett, Massachusetts anymore, Geno!”
One vendor in particular caught my attention. Several tall TRUMP signs waved in the wind above a large tent that housed hundreds of T-shirts, banners, bumper stickers and other assorted Trump paraphernalia. As a reader of my columns, you may know that I do not write about political issues; I am not here to advocate for specific causes or candidates. That said, I must admit I have zero understanding of how anyone could cast a ballot for Donald Trump. Given the choice between a decent human being with declining mental capacities and a crude, corrupt, narcissistic man-child, I’ll take the former any day of the week.
Anyway, seated in a folding chair under the tent was a middle-aged woman, tattooed and pierced from head to toe (“not that there’s anything wrong with it.”) I approached her (much to the chagrin of family members who were at the fair with me) with the express purpose of having a calm, civil discussion about our choices in the upcoming November election. Such discussions are, admittedly, challenging for me, but I was determined to give it a go.
“This will sound a little strange,” I said, ” but I have never had the chance to speak with someone who supports Donald Trump. I’m not here to be judgmental; I would just love to know why you like him.”
“So, you think I like him because I sell this crap?” the woman replied. “I hate the guy. Can’t stand him.”
I wasn’t sure how to respond. “Well, I guess I assumed you were pro-Trump. Now I’m curious. If you don’t mind my asking, how do you justify selling pro-Trump souvenirs when you don’t support him?”
“Listen. In 2020, I bought a house, all cash, with the money I made selling this stuff out of trailers all across the state. What am I supposed to do, not sell it and live in a sh- – hole?”
This was a woman who sugar-coated nothing. “At least you’re making money off of Trump,” I said. “Which is more than some of the people who work for him can say.” She smiled and I walked off, leaving her hawking her right-wing wares.
Dear reader, this encounter left me wondering what the ethicist at The New York Times would say about selling products that conflict with one’s beliefs and values. Is it OK to sell anti-abortion bumper stickers if one believes in a woman’s right to choose? Can someone own a liquor store while attending AA meetings? And would it matter if the rationale were to help provide for a family or loved one?
Many therapists and others in the mental health field believe it is unhealthy to engage in activities that conflict with one’s “core values.” Such conflicts can create a sense of being inauthentic to one’s true self, or, more succinctly, of being a fraud. According to experts, this can create all degrees of self-doubt, even self-loathing. I am not in the mental health field, but my hunch is that self-loathing can’t be a good thing.
But acting contrary to one’s “preference values” is a different story. You and I have beliefs that are important to us, ways we see the world that, in our own minds, are reasonable, moral, and ethical. I’m sure we could all make lists of where we stand on a wide range of issues such as immigration, climate change, recycling, clean air, taxes, women’s rights, health care, and so on. And if you are like me, you have a hard time living by your beliefs, consistently, every day.
Do I consider any of these a core value? Do you? Do I have any moral principles that are non negotiable, anything that means so much to me that I would lay down my life to protect? Well, of course I do. I would, without hesitation, trade my life to save the lives of my children, grandchildren and my four siblings (I am the oldest of five. If I were the youngest, I would have to give this more thought!).
Now I feel I may be straying off-topic. Love of family is not considered a core value, is it? I’m not sure; maybe it is. Perhaps it is the only, pure, core value that exists.
I do know, or strongly assume, that we can find T-shirts emblazoned with “Love Your Papa” or “Grandmas Are Beautiful,” being peddled to adoring grandkids by people who dislike their own grandparents. I also know I am in no position to cast judgment on the choices of strangers.
The straight-talking, anti-Trump vendor, sitting under a “Trump For President” poster, may be supporting a family from her earnings. Perhaps she donates to worthwhile charities and supports causes opposed by the felonious man-child.
Or maybe she is simply a woman willing to do whatever it takes to make a buck, principles be damned.
You never really know.
Gene Stamell usually lives by his principles in Leverett. He welcomes feedback at gstamell@gmail.com.