Book Club and A Slippery Slide......

The other day my book club discussed Forty Autumns by Nina Willner. I will admit when this non-fiction book was listed as the choice for May I wasn't sure I wanted to read it, but since I was hosting the meeting I was "guilted" into it. Thankfully.

I learned so much about Germany after WWII. I had no idea other than remembering the Berlin Wall and the day that came down. This book traces a family that is separated by the division of Germany - and follows them for several generations. As the statement on the cover reads "A family's story of courage and survival on both sides of the Berlin wall."

As we talked I realized I was probably eight to ten years old when much of this happened so it was in my "orbit" but not in my conciousness. I was a kid, playing in a lovely Midwest suburban town. Freedom was part of my "take-it-for-grantedness". The story of Germany under communist rule, and the way the East German's painted the picture of the "evil" on the other side of the wall.....the West just waiting to destroy their wonderful country. And East German leader Erich Honecker's complete control of the press and the information that was presented as "factual" to the people living under his iron thumb.

And then I saw something on my feed about an interview Leslie Stahl had with 45 after he'd won the nomination but prior to his inauguration. She was at a panel discussion recently and talked about that personal interview. While she did not focus on his relationship with the press - she did ask one very pertinent question. As the article states:

"CBS "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl has revealed a candid remark made to her by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in 2016. Stahl told a group of fellow journalists at the Deadline Club Awards Dinner in New York City earlier this week that Mr. Trump had admitted his consistent attacks on the media were meant to "discredit" journalists so that negative stories about him would not be believed.

Stahl was the first television journalist to sit down with Mr. Trump for an interview following his election victory. Their wide-ranging on-camera interview did not delve into Mr. Trump's attitude toward the press, but Stahl said on Monday night that in a candid, off-camera meeting earlier that year, she pressed him to explain his barrage of insults aimed at journalists, and he gave her a clear explanation: "I said, 'You know, that is getting tired. Why are you doing this? You're doing it over and over. It's boring and it's time to end that,'"

"He said, 'You know why I do it? I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you.' He said that," Stahl told the audience, adding, "So, put that in your head for a minute."

Yes....put that in your head for a minute. Maybe it really grabbed my attention because of Forty Autumns and its story of the loss of freedoms we take for granted. Put that comment in your head a minute....really....think about it.

He does it to "discredit you all and demean you all so when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you."  

And sadly....it seems to be working.....