If you are conservative (like me), then you probably stayed away from CNN and MSNBC election night. Smart move, because it is unhealthy to self-flog oneself intellectually. Furthermore, don’t let Florida Democrats get you down while they count every (new) vote until they get the results they desire. Once the clawing and crowing end, America will go back to work and Washington will go back to governing. To be sure, House Democrats will use oversight to check President Trump, but they investigate at their own peril. The real power in Washington still resides in the Senate, White House and Supreme Court.
Think of Tuesday as a tactical re-set. The out-party Democrats have been powerless to do much of anything for two years – except blame, inflame, complain and campaign. Now, House Democrats will have their ideas torn apart by special-interest groups and PACs, voted down by Senate Republicans, vetoed by the President, and ruled against by the Supreme Court. Is this a great country or what?
Meanwhile, you can get a sneak peek into 2020 by going to Cracker Barrel for Sunday lunch, where the silent majority gather in droves. I did so two weeks ago and, boy, did I feel good about the USA. Pulling into an overflowing parking lot, we parked beside a minivan from Ohio with an “ask me about my grandchildren” bumper sticker and ambled up to the front porch that was filled with families waiting for their tables or lingering to say goodbyes. Most were multi-generational and many were middle-aged with one ancient parent…representing the many colors of today’s America. As a warm sun shown on the faces of aging veterans, me-generation Americans we’re attentive and devoted to “their” American heroes. This is the REAL America.
The liberal punditocracy, such as Don Lemon and Stephen Colbert, would be shocked to know not a single red (or any other color) MAGA hat could be seen. Rather, I did see four young men in Clemson hats, two retired men is USMC hats, and a pot-bellied man wearing a GMC cap. A woman wearing a “Life is a beach” tee shirt walked in with a son in a Duke tee shirt. Yes, and a (buxom) twenty-something woman in her Europe 72 tee shirt struck a pose that invited me to recall my college years (and I smiled).
Even though Cracker Barrel’s history includes discrimination and intolerance (until its 2004 non-discrimination policy), we were greeted by a young Hispanic woman, who told us the wait would be fifteen minutes (it was ten). The restaurant was jam-packed (and that was just in the general store). I asked the manager, “How’s business?“ and she told me this year has been “awesome” (I checked: in the most recent quarter, Cracker Barrel sales were $811 million, compared to $743 million a year ago). Because this restaurant chain is where working-class Americans spend discretionary income, its sales should be up in this working-folks recovery.
Cracker Barrel serves a REAL breakfast to people that don’t care if it is “farm to table” or if the country ham comes from humanely treated hogs. There is no California Eye Opener or Continental Breakfast. There is a Country Boy Breakfast and an Uncle Herschel’s Breakfast. It might surprise you that a trim and preppy family of four sat beside us indulging in a salty-sugary festival of country cooking. Not so surprising, the dining area was filled with laughter and conversation, which drowned out the country music blaring from the ceiling-mounted speakers.
There was something notable I did not hear. This large representation of deplorable Americans did not broadcast one word of profanity. Even the college-aged men in Virginia Tech sweatshirts nearby avoided f-bombs and GD-somethings. The many black and Hispanic families were not told “you’re not welcome here.” Not a single Cracker Barrel diner screamed at the after-church Christians (dressed in Sunday best) or verbally resisted the two state troopers having pancakes nearby.
Yes, there are sharp-elbowed political battles ahead, but inside Cracker Barrel is sanctuary, where everyday Americans can forget about waistlines and Rocket Man and fascism for a while – and just talk about school, work, families and friends. On CNN and MSNBC, the planet is still turning into a burning ball and Trump is still a threat to our civility. But – inside Cracker Barrel, Americans are enjoying their “crumbs” by letting mom have the day off and allowing their retired parents to escape their assisted-living dormitories.
It would have been wrong to bring up the election with these Americans (which I suspect were conservative and happy with the current economic recovery) who are the kind of folks that stand for the national anthem and support law enforcement. This is America and those happy diners were enjoying freedom from want. At such a time, they were entitled to their right to privacy…at peace…with families and/or friends…minding their own business (and I smiled yet again).
