I recall straight news; newscasters survived only if they were deemed trustworthy and reliable es. That’s why we loved Walter Cronkite plus the pair Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.
Even Paul Harvey billed his daily radio show as news and commentary.
“All politics is grass roots,” noted Everett Dirksen (R-Ill.) from the same era. It is only when a decision made in Washington, D.C., has immediate impact on us that news has real value. The rest of it seems more like entertainment.
So, I stay away from the news, and I stay away from political prattle, at least as much as possible. A couple of weeks ago, the news did become very local grassroots stuff, and it didn’t come from the media. It was the sign at the gas station. The price was just a smidge under $4 a gallon. Today, it is close to $5 here in west Michigan. Earlier this year gas cost under three dollars. A big jump in the price of a necessity is about as grass roots as it ever gets.
Most of us need gasoline, diesel or electric power to get to and from work, and sometimes while we are at work. No gas means no work, and no work means no income. But if we must spend more on gas and our opportunities for earning more money are limited, something else has to give. That diminishes our quality of life, maybe even life itself.
Higher-priced fuel also drives up the cost of shipping food, as reflected in grocery and retail stores. For instance, fruit and vegetables, bread and other products cost more because transportation costs are passed on to the customer. In the case of produce or even canned goods, fuel and fertilizer costs are increased for farmers, so they must pass it on themselves.
So we cut back on other things to pay for fuel. That might mean not buying clothes (again, perhaps) this year. It might mean not going out for a date night as often, or at all. But when we reduce our spending on consumer goods, retailers suffer and, in turn, might lay off workers or reduce their hours.
In short, everyone is suffering from the sudden rise in costs. That’s grass roots. We know that the war against Iran is responsible for much of this increase. Whoever planned this made a big oopsie in not remembering the Straits of Hormuz, through which many tankers pass. It bottlenecks the whole system, puts a monkey wrench in the gears.
Every day that passes, things get worse here at home — in our own grass roots. Worse, there seems to no end to this chaos.
November mid-term elections draw nearer. Voters will remember the Feb. 24 State of the Union Address when President Trump told us inflation was down, food prices lower, gas cheaper and everything was even better than before.
When people started feeling the real pain of high gas prices, he brushed away our concerns with, “no one cares” and “I don’t think about people.”
That may come back to haunt him and his party because yes, we do care. Just to twist the knife in our backs, we were told the federal government can’t afford healthcare for those in need.
History reminds us of what happens when leaders forget about grass roots. Charles I of England was executed because his arrogance and increasing distance from his subjects became intolerable for the people. He raised taxes for foolish wars. He and his courtiers lived in luxury. His subjects struggled to just survive.
Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette learned the hard way when their heads were lopped off in 1793. The queen was so far removed from the reality of her subjects, she them that if they could not afford bread, they should eat cake.
Czar Nicholas II and his family were lined up against a basement wall for the same reasons. In part, the Romanovs spent a fortune on grandeur, such as a palace room lined with amber, and spent extra money on a few favorites.
None had learned their history lessons, or perhaps thought such economics didn’t apply to them. Centuries earlier, Roman emperors tried to placate the people with bread and circuses. A free meal while watching bloody and violent spectacles were meant to make the plebeians feel better about inflation, low wages, and other problems. Maybe it worked for a while, but read Mary Beard’s history of imperial Rome to see for yourself how many emperors had their tenures cut short, usually with a knife to the back – or throat. More creative assassins preferred poison.
Dirksen decades ago reminded his colleagues about wasting money instead of focusing on real needs. “A million here, a million there, and it adds up to real money.” That maxim, even if millions have turned into billions or even trillions, still applies today.
