This is a review of, and response to Siena Chrisman's recent op-ed, “Want to Understand Trump’s Rise? Head to the Farm,” Civil Eats, 10/27/16. Siena interprets this years top story, the rise of Trump, on the basis of rural economic oppression, and it's psycho-political consequences, a topic with a long history. Trump has been doing particularly well in rural areas.
So please read Siena's article before reading this review. She makes the major connections between the rise of Trump, and the history of farm politics and it’s role in rural social trauma.
TRUMP AND RURAL DESPERATION
Siena Chrisman tells the story of how, for 60 years, Congressional action (under the influence of corporate lobbying) has been harsh on America’s family farmers, leading, by the 1980s, to a dark side of rural activism that has resonated well with the presidential campaign of Donald Trump. As Siena puts it, “Throughout the crisis, rural America felt abandoned. Communities were going through catastrophic loss and the rest of the country didn’t seem to care.”
This led to a lot of anger, and some of that was exploited by “the antigovernment and militia movements.” On this point Siena refers to Joel Dyer’s book, Harvest of Rage, which tied some responses to the farm crisis to extremist groups and the Oklahoma City bombing.
Behind these traumas, Siena argues, is a long history of failed leadership, from corporate think tanks of the 60s, to President Nixon and ag secretary Earl Butz, to the Reagan administration, and on up to the campaigns of today. It’s a forgotten story, and well worth the read.
SIENA'S TEASERS: SHE'S OPENED THE CAN OF WORMS; WE MUST WAIT FOR THE REST OF THE STORY
In making her case, Siena packs in a lot of major fresh ideas. As someone who has worked on these issues for more than three decades, Siena's piece is like a breath of fresh air. At the same time, she reminds me that these major ideas, “freshly observed,” add up to multiple stories of enormous magnitude. For me, then, the op-ed comes across as a huge teaser. She shows that there's a lot more out there, waiting for her further exposition. (See her previous writing on farm-side issues, linked below. She's also writing a book on the 1980s farm crisis.)
One major teaser is her reference to the two sides of the farm issues related to Trump. Obviously, Trump is the major story today, but she also refers to the other side of those farm issues, both historically, (in progressive farm movements,) and with reference to the recent Bernie Sanders campaign. She refers, for example, to those “bewildered by the Trump signs lining their roads.” Her approach, then, is not one sided. Sanders, of course, is out of the running, and not the VP candidate, so the ways that these issues all tie in to “Farmers for Bernie” is a story for another time.
Another teaser is Siena's argument that, while historical farm issues tie in to Trump's significant support in rural areas where a significant number of farmers have long been mad as hell, Trump himself has not offered positive policy solutions, except for rejection of trade agreements.
Finally, Siena ties these Trump-side issues directly in to another major topic, the politics of the Food Movement, referencing, for example, Michael Pollan's recent 5,800 word piece in the New York Times about the Obama administration. In this regard, Siena makes some key points that Pollan failed to get right. For example, Pollan pointed to farm subsidies as a key operative factor in the farm bill, in spite of the fact that there's no valid evidence supporting that view. (There are several kinds of invalid evidence.). Siena repeatedly points to what farmers have known for many decades, that price floors and supply management, to fix 'free' market failures, are the key valid issues. She cites econometric research from the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center on the many benefits of this approach, which restores fair farm prices while costing much less to the government and taxpayers.
More fundamentally, Siena draws us toward the enormous but forgotten farm-side history behind today's food issues, and especially its implications for today's politics of food and farming. This is exactly the story that could have provided the most significant answer in Pollan's thesis: The Food Movement has been failing in Washington in a context where it has been failing to comprehend farm country history and politics. As Siena shows, if you have eyes to see it, (and this is a teaser of its own,) misunderstanding the politics of farm side social traumas can generate nasty forms of blowback.
SIENA REPRESENTS THE FUTURE WE DESPERATELY NEED
Siena shows that we have huge risks and a ton of work to do. (The teasers make this point.) It's clear to me, however, that what she offers can move us toward the farm and food reconciliation that we so desperately need. She's going far beyond what the vast majority of food advocates have been doing. Her work is certainly a breath of fresh air to those of us working on the farm side. (See here earlier work here, and scroll down for topical links. )
In particular, Trump's puzzling success is surely a wake up call to many progressives, such as in the Food Movement, with its large component of younger and female advocates. As Siena shows, however, it's not so puzzling to those of us who are older and with activist experience on the farm side. The farm side, including it's older men, like me, has a lot to offer. Siena, however, has the capacity to encompass both domains. Better than Pollan, she models the key competencies we need to move on, effectively, from here. She represents the future we desperately need.