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Of Mice and Men
By John Burl Smith author “The 400th From Slavery to Hip Hop”
The phrase “The best laid schemes of mice and men” is found originally in Robert Burns’ poem “To a Mouse,” written in 1786. The poem is a response to the author’s careless destruction, while plowing, of a mouse's nest in a field. The resulting poem is Burns’ apology to the mouse. Robert Burns (1/25/1759–7/21/1796) was a Scottish poet and lyricist, universally regarded, as Scotland’s national poet. Burns, a cultural icon, is celebrated as a national charismatic cult leader, during the 19th and 20th centuries and pioneer of the “Romantic Movement.” Posthumously, he became the inspiration of both liberalism and socialism.
On the other hand, John Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. (2/27/1902–12/20/1968) was a very prolific American author (33 books), which makes him a giant of American letters. Winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature, Steinbeck is noted "for his realistic and imaginative writings, while combining sympathetic humor and keen social perception." One of his iconic works “Of Mice and Men,” published in 1937, is characterized as a detailed and intricate story set during America’s Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted into the late 1930s. Steinbeck wrote in various genres, and like Burns, uses the word “mouse” in one of his most significant works “Of Mice and Men.” Unlike Burns in his poem “To a Mouse,” Steinbeck’s mouse story has a different intent. For most readers Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” reflects America’s uncaring and total disregard for human life, as Burns plowman for the home of a rat. Steinbeck’s plot revolves around two nomadic farm workers, Lennie and George. George is a big strong man but mentally challenged, whereas Lennie is intelligent but uneducated, hence Lennie looks after his gentle-giant dimwitted friend.
For me both stories are reflective of Burns immortal line “The best laid schemes of mice and men,” and is a prelude to where America finds itself today, as it struggles to survive the disastrous whirlwind of Donald Trump’s uncaring and destructive presidency. Cosigned in their book, “I Alone Can Fix It Donald J. Trump’s Final Catastrophic Year” Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, brilliantly describes Trumps “best laid plans and how he became a “rat,” with his 1/6 insurrection, which continues to ravish America’s democracy. Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” as “I Alone Can Fix It” details the odious impact and implications for America, as Trump’s stench hoovers over states like Georgia, Arizona and Florida smothering democracy, with Republican voter suppression.
I use “The best laid plans of mice and men,” to segue a mice to a rat, which was revealed by “Tic Tokers,” which pulled the cover off of Trump’s scam, as president and re-election. Deploying a scam of their own they showed out of the gate, the “scammer-in-chief,” “orange hair and all, Tic Tokers convinced Trump, over a million MAGA lovers were headed for Tulsa. With dollar signs for eyeballs, Trump booked up all the hotels, and added overflow space for the giant arena, as well as an outdoor concert for his huge event. However, less than 6,000 MAGA fans showed up, as Tic Tokers punched holes in Trump’s invincibility. My point is kids figured out what grownups are still confused about today, which is “Trump is a RAT.” Moreover, I am convinced 11th and 12th graders and other young voters will be America democracy’s “saving grace!!” They are far smarter than they look and possess the voting power to prove it, while all Republicans have come up with are lies and voter suppression schemes in states like Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Texas and others.
The fast forward to the present is prompted by last week’s 42nd Harvard Youth Poll (HYP), which showed young Americans are very much aware of the threat Republicans represent to democracy. Young Americans, in this latest survey, shared concerns for repercussions from the pandemic, democratic government, the Biden administration, and climate change among other things. The HYP found young Americans are worried about democracy. Even more striking, 35% of respondents anticipate a second civil war during their lifetimes, where 25% believe that at least one state will secede. More than half feel democracy is under attack, and at least half of all respondents struggled with feelings of hopelessness and depression. Even more alarming, 50% of young people polled said that COVID-19 has changed them, and 51% say the pandemic had a negative impact on their life. While, 51% felt down or depressed at several different instances two weeks before the survey.
Additionally, young people felt strongly affected and worried about the threat of climate change. Significantly, 56% of young Americans expect climate change to have an impact on their future decisions and 45% already see it affecting their local communities. Moreover, large numbers of both Democrats and Republicans believe that individual changes in behavior can have the greatest positive impact addressing the climate change crisis. More than half of respondents believe the U.S. government is not doing enough to address climate change. In addition to addressing climate change, respondents see strengthening the economy, uniting the country, and improving health care as key issues for the Biden administration.
The HYP spoke with 2,109 people 18 and 29 years of age, on various topics from across the country and found a striking lack of confidence in U.S. democracy among young Americans. Only 7% view it as a “healthy democracy,” and 52% believe that “democracy is either in trouble or failing.” Support for Pres. Biden has also dropped across the board since the last Harvard Youth Poll in the spring. A majority of respondents were unhappy with how the president and Congress do their jobs. Among young Democrats, approval for Biden stands at 75%, a drop of 10 points since the last survey in March. Republican approval continues to tank, slumping to 9%—a decrease of 13 points since the spring—while among independents it dropped to 39%, a 14-point decrease. IOP Director Mark Gearan stated, “Our political leaders on both sides of the aisle would benefit tremendously from listening to the concerns that our students and young voters have raised about the challenges facing our democracy and their genuine desire for political parties to stop attacks and find common ground.”
This brings us back to where we began “the best laid schemes of mice and men” and Donald J. Trump face to face with his attempted insurrectionist on 1/6. The US census has been given Americans numbers that show young Americans between the ages of 18 to 29 constitute the largest voting demographic presently in America. Now, for the first time ever, the HYP has established through personal preferences expressed by young voters, older voters can longer force their demands down young voters’ throats. The older generation must finally admit its failure to give young people VOICE, created Donald Trump. Now that older voters are no longer the majority, high school 11th and 12th graders have the voting power at the polls to elect and defeat MAGA with their ballots. Young people no longer must take to the street, as the only way to be heard. This is the threat Republican voter suppression is aimed to stop. Consequently, high school, 11th and 12th graders must do for their rabid MAGA parents and grandparents, as Lennie (Of Mice and Men) did for his gentle-giant dimwitted friend, save them before Trump leads them over a cliff, like lemming or another kind of rodent, as part of his “RAT PACK!!!”
It Has to Be A Love Story!!!
Roslyn and Sandra Yarbrough it was a pleasure to autograph your books, but I must tell you why! While guiding my development as a writer, my wife Dot always admonish, “It has to be a love story, or why bother?” I embraced her admonition developing “The 400th From Slavery to Hip Hop!”, the book you are about to read. This love story began in slave pens long before the Emancipation Proclamation was ever a consideration. Love for one another enabled descendants of American slavery to begin their upward struggle to create the international culture referred to as hip hop today!! That trek began with their first major decision as free people, which was, to make families and build communities. Their next effort, gaining education and learn to communicate, gave their first decision real value. Family, education and communication strengthen their community building endeavors, which brought their descendants to where we are today.
I share these words with you because most individuals who played crucial roles and laid the foundation on the yellow brick road of entertainment remain unsung, while others have been denigrated, if not destroyed, by a society devoid of compassion or sympathy. America, as a society, has refused to recognize the contribution of such unsung heroes, and the crucial roles they played breaking down barriers and setting a course of survival that allowed slave descendants to emerge, as one people. Their defiance, enduring the of actions white people, which was designed to keep them locked in perpetual slavery, was the single greatest, survival act of any people the world over.
I selected two black families to illustrate this point in tell their stories in “The 400th”. First, Will Yarbrough, a husband and your father, represent the unsung in “The 400th”. Will, and many like him, battled in the shadows, breaking into the field of audio technology, was ignored, even though he played a leading role. Those who told the story of the growth and development of American entertainment, not only ignored contributions of black men, like Will, they glossed over or left their stories out altogether. More than that, they whitewash the entire story you will read, as presented in “The 400th”, which details how American entertainment began in “slave pens.
The other example I selected illustrates and reflects how a black man’s body of work is disregarded, similar to how Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s indiscretions are raised to show he was not perfect, when no human is without faults. It is the impact this black man had on my life though we never met. The son of sharecroppers, whose family escaped Mississippi under the cover of night and most fortunately, was able to find shelter among the poorest of the poor in a place called “Greens Ally.” Again, similar to a beckon to a ship far out at sea, and beyond the inspiration from my mother and new father, one image in the late 1960s, gave that child a hero that looked just like him. No “Stepin Fetchit” or “Mantan Moreland,” who had to conform to white’s “blackface” demands, this black man was suave, debonair, intelligent and ready with a solution, when his white counterpart was at “wits end!” Yes I dare speak the name of Dr. Bill Cosby, as a hero and foundation layer of opportunities for most blacks who aspired to be professionals in the entertainment industry or some other endeavors.
Unlike Will, your father, Dr. Cosby was not in the shadows. He was out front for all to see and most wanted to be him, as well as envied his success, even though he gave so many like you, a leg up beginning your career!! I was one of those who wanted to emulate such stellar success. He raised my expectation for what a black man could do in America, and I was not alone. Black men without an image of professional success in their lives, for the first time, had an example of what an individual black man could accomplish. I have never meet Dr. Cosby, but I spent the last 2 hours of his life with Dr. King, at the Lorraine Motel, and in those moments, his indiscretions did not tarnish the thoughts and image of what it meant and still means for descendants American slavery’s ability to draw on his inspiring leadership. I never imagined having such an opportunity, and I wonder today, had he lived, would his legacy be defined by his indiscretions, as Dr. Cosby’s for many???
So Sandra and Roslyn, wife and daughter, you have a very important role of supporting someone in their declining years, who gave so much to many, by opening doors and supporting those without opportunities, who have no idea what life would be like for them had men like Will and Dr. Cosby actually been the demon many make him out to be today. This is why my wife's admonition is so powerful to me!!! John Burl Smith author of “The 400th From Slavery to Hip Hop!!!!
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