We are in Waseon, Ohio, about 30 miles from the Indiana border. It is a very nice town, with manicured lawns and a midwestern feel. It has a railroad station on the National Register and a Post Office with a WPA mural. And just when I was thinking what a wonderful town, I see a Trump sign on a lawn, then a flag, then another Trump sign. The town has its full complement of idiots.
As we drive along we are listening to a reading of Ron Chernow’s biography of President U.S. Grant. The activities of the Ku Klux Klan in beating, lynchings, and mass killings of Black men and women who tried to exercise their right to vote is truly depressing. Grant did his best, using federal troops to keep the Klan under control. Perhaps even more depressing is that these attempts to keep Blacks and other minorities from voting are still occurring.
