“Always Something There to Remind Me”
By Laurie Baron
SAN DIEGO — This week I returned from several weeks of travel in Germany, Israel, and the United Kingdom. I was busy seeing old friends and giving lectures. I hoped my trip would be a respite from the anxiety and dismay that have plagued me since Donald Trump became president. Unfortunately, as the song by Dionne Warwick aptly put it, “There was always something there to remind me.”
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When I visited Berlin where I once had lived, I marveled at how much more convenient and inviting the city had become now that the Wall had fallen. I couldn’t help imagining Ronald Reagan imploring Donald Trump in the future to tear down his wall.
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Walking around Tel Aviv, I glimpsed the Likud Headquarters with its giant mural of Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu grinning like Chesire cats. Embroiled in scandals and blaming their political enemies for their woes, they are truly brothers from another mother. Bibi’s response to the announcement that he would be indicted sounded like it was scripted by Donald Trump except that the Hebrew words had more than two syllables and it was longer than a Tweet.
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Riding on the new light rail through Jerusalem, the train was stopped by Haredim blocking a busy intersection to protest the arrest of an ultra-Orthodox man who refused to report for military service. Replace their frock coats and shtreimels with Levis, tee shirts, and MAGA hats, they easily could have been evangelical Christians blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic.
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In my overnight stay in London, I watched on television as Parliament voted down Teresa May’s Brexit plan and heard that it was likely the Senate would do the same to Trump’s Emergency Funding for the Wall. The British woman sitting next to me on my return flight commented that it seemed both countries were regressing. When I turned on the in-flight programming, the only show available was Ozzie and Harriet.
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Baron is professor emeritus at San Diego State University. He may be contacted via lawrence.baron@sdjewishworld.com San Diego Jewish World points out to new readers that his column is satire and nothing herein should be taken literally.