A group of about 37 people gathered recently at a local coffee shop around 7 p.m. There were about 32 millennials and five adults. An exit poll by observation showed: definitely Trump - 7; definitely Clinton 14; did not vote - 8; lean Trump - 2; lean Clinton - 6; people not watching any cable news tonight - 35; number attending a nearby college - 23.
That gathering took place in a shop on Hamilton County land that has been owned by the same family for more than 100 years.
Welcome to a coffee shop often crowded with millennials in a community where north of 70 percent of so-called "deplorables" decided who would be their next president. It's likely that what all of us see, read or hear in the coming months is not going to be like what we have seen, read or heard at any other time since the civil rights and Vietnam eras. Some millennials may have to Google those events.
When a half million folks show up in Washington to march in a protest that was copied all over the country, including here, it's a significant event. It doesn't matter how much of it was paid for and how much was just plain passion. When those who do so in the name of life do the same thing, it's significant but often ignored. Are these protests an issue that will have staying power like the civil rights and Vietnam protests?
What we do know is that the protesters don't understand what the new president is up to each day. The fact is that a case can be made that a good percentage of Trump's 63 million voters and all talking heads also do not fully "get" why President Trump is doing what he is doing. Too many Republicans and especially establishment Republicans are lost in the weeds when they should be enjoying the view from 20,000 feet.
It's hard to understand why people can't look back at a 19-month campaign and not understand and enjoy the moment (especially if you are a "deplorable"). As a friend often said, "Say it. Say it again. And then say it again." That's all Trump did. Through all the missteps and media hysteria, the same core message never changed.
Liberals and the liberal media as a collective group have simply lost their minds. Here's hoping it's temporary. Many reasoned liberals remain vigilant in seeking a new direction but are not shy of criticizing Trump. But at least they are nice about it. Note to Ashley Judd. Stay away from Neyland unless you wear earplugs. Big Orange nation is full of "deplorables." Tennessee voted 61-35 percent for the deplorable in chief.
All of those who can't enjoy a moment in history want to put Trump in a box. Even Bill O'Reilly wants to put him in a box he helps shape. Can't they see the Trump they see today is the same as the one who came down the elevator in 2015? It just looks like it's been in Iraq for two tours.
And here is the kicker. The noise from Republicans who don't get it, Democrats who can't get it, too many journalists, cable news, network news, some major newspapers and social media is just that. Noise. Trump is doing what he said he would do. Shocking. When was the last time that happened in D.C.? Trump, who is already the biggest game-changer since Martin Luther King, will either succeed and America will be great again, be indicted because a good reporter finds a smoking gun, or something far worse and divisive.
No one at the coffee shop that night heard a single note of the noise. Two-thirds of the "deplorables" nationwide have tuned out the noise. They are just going to work each morning. Today, they simply see, read and hear each in their own way.
Contact Davis Lundy, director of the Small Cities Coalition of Hamilton County, at davislundy@aol.com.