In 1982, Reagan was giving the world a preview of Trumpism and the hippy wave of the 1960s had broken and was slipping back to sea. Donald Fagen of Steely Dan took a nostalgic look back at the experiences of us Baby Boomers in a solo album called The Nightfly. Its lead song called "IGY" took us back to the 1950s and the feeling of optimism that defined our lives at the time.

I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World) - Wikipedia

The "I.G.Y." of the title refers to the "International Geophysical Year", an event that ran from July 1957 to December 1958. The I.G.Y. was an international scientific project promoting collaboration among the world's scientists. Fagen's lyric discusses the widespread optimistic vision of the future at that time. . . .

The irony of the song was painfully obvious in those early days of the Reagan Revolution:

Standing tough under stars and stripes
We can tell
This dream's in sight
You've got to admit it
At this point in time that it's clear
The future looks bright
On that train all graphite and glitter
Undersea by rail
Ninety minutes from New York to Paris
Well by seventy-six we'll be A-OK

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free

Get your ticket to that wheel in space
While there's time
The fix is in
You'll be a witness to that game of chance in the sky
You know we've got to win
Here at home we'll play in the city
Powered by the sun
Perfect weather for a streamlined world
There'll be spandex jackets one for everyone

What a beautiful world this will be
What a glorious time to be free

43 years ago, we were obsessing about Soviet Arms and That Wall in Berlin that symbolized the evil loose in the world driven by Moscow. Optimism no longer meant a pleasant life for ordinary people. Instead it meant believing that we could and should kick the Soviet Union's ass under the "strong" (ie, not liberal or wimpy) leadership of the first Sleepy Joe, the doddering Ronald Reagan.

Fagen's solo album perfectly summed up the Baby Boomer experience of citizenship during the television era.

Similarly, this first six weeks of Trump Part Deux are all about his claimed project of Making America Great Again, to restore the Dream that Fagen celebrates. This is not to praise or in any way approve of the personality of Donnie Shrimpfingers.

I think the opposite. Politicians get rich in the 21st Century because they help their campaign contributors get richer. Their job is not to run the government which runs itself. Their job is to put on a dramatic show of struggle and triumph.

Jesse Jackson used to address this ugly truth about our society -- "Keep hope alive!"

Your flat screens tell you that is craziness. Be afraid! The Wrong Side might win!