I was listening to KNX news radio when the name Bob Smith, a news announcer, was mentioned.
My thoughts drifted back to the fifties when I’d sit in front of our 12-inch black-and-white TV and watch a now deceased Bob Smith, a puppeteer and ventriloquist, also known as Buffalo Bob, perform on THE HOWDY DOODY SHOW. From 1947 to 1960 he’d sit with Howdy Doody, his little wooden puppet, as millions of kids, part of the peanut gallery, hung on his every word. There was no danger in the world except when Clarabel, the unruly clown, squirted Howdy Doo or Buffalo Bob with seltzer water.
It was a time of peace, safety, and tranquility.
WRONG! Very, very wrong!
In 1952 I remember my 5th grade teacher, a pretty, kind, interesting lady, being dragged out of class in handcuffs by men with FBI printed on their jackets. She was called Pinko, Commy, a danger to our society by the adults congregating in the schoolyard. I never saw her again and for years never really understood what that was all about.
Later, I learned that it was at the height of The McCarthy era, the red scare, a time when American leaders preached that we should be afraid of subversive communists undermining our country. That’s when Senator Joe McCarthy, a far right Republican from Wisconsin, launched a series of highly publicized probes into alleged Communist penetration into our society. Even President Eisenhower was fearful of tangling with McCarthy and it’s been hypothesized that his timid approach allowed this power-hungry man to expand his reach.
I remember an episode in grade school when a siren went off and we were urged to quickly get under our wooden desks, just in case the Russians launched a missile at us.
When was the world a safe place?
When did reason prevail over authoritarian thugs like Trump, Putin, Hammas, and the plethora of worldwide, religious, mysogynistic tyrants?
I propose never.
I also propose that if we don’t overcome the Trumps and MAGA supporters, right here in the bastion of freedom, we’re in serious trouble. And this is really important. A lot of what middle-of-the-road Republicans want is reasonable. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having safe boarders and reasonable State’s Rights, after all, different parts of our country have different strong beliefs. But to have a narcissist and an impulse-ridden, vindictive, liar like Donald Trump leading the charge is horrifying.
So all you peanut gallery graduates. It’s Howdy Doody time, Bob Smith and Howdy Doo, say howdy doo to you.
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Oh, one more thing. It just struck me that perhaps all these long-ago feelings of powerlessness is why the heroes in my novels overcome forces that seem insurmountable. Maybe more about that in the weeks to come. Maybe not. At least I’m in charge, so far, with what I will and will not write.
Have a good read!
Art
#McCarthyism, #Redscare, #Psychiatrist, #Trump, #Putin, #thefifties, #Hammas
Inside The Mind of a Psychiatrist 