A mélange

Vahe H Apelian

 

I could not think of an appropriate title for this blog. I settled using mélange. It is a French word which means mixture, a medley. But mine is not of vegetables, but of thoughts that crossed my mind when I attended the Thanksgiving function of the Veterans Inc.  

Veterans Inc. is the largest provider of support services to Veterans and their families in New England. It is non-government and non-profit organization. It was founded in 1990. It’s headquartered is in Worcester, Massachusetts. The organization’s mission is to give shelter to honorably-served veterans who have lost homes, suffer from other disabilities. In short veterans who are in need. 

Marie honorably served in the armed forces and having worked in the Veterans Administration hospital in Cincinnati, has an affinity towards veterans’ organizations. In fact, in 2012 she was voted the greater Cincinnati Veteran Woman of the year.  Veterans Inc. is an organization we support. She had received an invitation to attend their Thanksgiving function. I thought the organization has planned a traditional Thanksgiving luncheon and we will be having one with the veterans. But when we entered the hall, I was caught by surprise. Hundreds, hundreds and hundreds of veterans had come there to receive a Thanksgiving care package for them and their families. Suddenly, the contrast of the promises laden election I also had just gone through on the news, and the reality on the ground in the Veterans Inc. Hall I had stepped in, hit me with a ton of bricks, as the saying goes. 

Thankfully Marie and I lead a comfortable life and are not in want of anything for physical comfort, other than God given health. But I saw poverty in the Veterans Inc. Hall. A few days ago I was particularly disturbed by a picture I saw of Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy with following caption: “outline plan for large-scale firings in federal workforce under Trump.” Both of them are billionaires. 

I could not contain my rage when I read today Trump’s former advisor Steve Bannon say that president elect won the election because Elon Musk “stroked a $150 million check for the ground game, which is not sexy, at the exact moment we needed it. He came in with the money and the professionals. To be brutally frank, it’s the reason we won.”  It is not their billions that disturb me but the ARROANCE in choosing words such as “the ground game” and that it is not “sexy”. It was not a game I played during this presidential election campaign, nor was it sexy. 

Rightly or wrongly, I perceive an arrogance in this upcoming administration that seem to claim that they have silver bullets to shoot their way through what ails the country as it copes with the unprecedented technological advances that is upending social norms in a world that is getting more complex by the day. Elon Musk is tasked to head Department of Government Efficiency. I am not sure if it is a new Department or if he will have his seat in the cabinet.  

I did not vote for Trump in 2020 and this year too. I will have to admit. I could not overcome my revulsion of Trump the person to vote for him to occupy the presidential seat.  Running as Republican overshadowed Trump the person for Marie. She voted Republican. I have always maintained an open mind. As an everyday working American, I do not personalize who is elected, simply because I will be in the same boat with the rest of my social and professional circle. If it is good for them. It could not be bad for me as well.

.  But not this time. I feel that there was a deception in this election. Even though I did not vote from Trump, but I feel deceived. I do not know how those who voted for Trump feel. It is not because I read today in NY Times that “Trump disavowed Project 2025 during the campaign. Not anymore.” It is because a perception I had of America that was violated. 

It is expected that meritocrats toy in the fashion market, with fast cars, with and in luxurious yachts, or in 500 million Bezos like properties. But this time around, this class of meritocrats seem posed to toy in the very halls of power in the nation’s capital, in Washington D.C., that once Donald Trump called it a swamp. It is not the image of a benevolent monarch that is shaping, but of an arrogant monarch and his billionaire meritocratic courtiers.

Marie and I celebrated on our own. Most of the rest of the family members are elsewhere for Thanksgiving. In this hall, the hundreds of veterans had come to receive a Thanksgiving care package for their families that includes a frozen turkey with all its trimmings and much, much, much more. All was made possible for the veterans by generous private donors, and served by volunteers.  There is music in the hall. There is camaraderie in the hall and animated chit chats around the table we were seating. Yes, they are not wearing neckties and their clothing is surely is not like those who will run this country are wearing. I do not know whom the veterans in the hall voted. But I imagine that their expectations were for the mundane, such as their groceries, gas, health care, home ownership made more affordable, and of course jobs for them and their family members, good public schools for their children and grandchildren, a clean air to breath, and want to pursue happiness. The message of this election was unmistakable, make America great again. I imagine for the veterans and for most of us, the greatness lies in the everyday mundane. 

Time will tell.

I want to cling to the hope, that 2024 election is for the best.

But I also cannot do away with the notion that it will for the worse.