“There, that’s everything,” Juan finished explaining his family’s financial situation. Maria wept quietly from her seat on the couch. Next to her, Sofia, Juan’s daughter, hugged her mother in an attempt at comfort.
Sofia laid her head on her mother’s shoulder and stroked her hair. Suddenly, she sat up with a stricken look, “Dad? What about my school? Am I still going to be able to attend college?”
The question was like a knife to Juan’s pride. “I still got a job! We’re not going to starve yet, OK?”
“That’s not what I asked!” Sofia fired back.
When did she become so disrespectful? Juan wondered. She can’t talk to me like that!
“I’ve got to register for Fall term,” Sofia pressed the issue hard, as if Juan was to blame. “I need to know if I’m going to be able to pay for it.”
Juan snapped. “You never pay for anything! It’s my money that pays for your school. Who do you think you are? You need to show some respect!”
Sofia made a rude noise that sounded like she was choking back a curse. She stood up and strode out of the room.
“And you can forget about getting that apartment!” Juan threw that in just to cause some damage. He instantly regretted his words. He always doted on his daughter, but his financial situation was now so dire that he couldn’t control himself.
Maria, always sensitive to loud voices, couldn’t handle the angry shouting match in her living room. She broke into sobs and ran back to the bedroom.
Juan knew he’d hurt his family and felt terrible about it. But his culture and tradition wouldn’t let him apologize. He was the man of the house. This was his responsibility. “I’m going to Roberto’s for a beer!” he shouted down the hallway.
As he left for his brother’s house, Juan slammed the door behind him.
It was almost worse at Roberto’s house. His brother was a big man who spoke with a bellowing, bombastic cadence designed to inform everyone within earshot that he knew all the answers to every problem.
“I’ll tell you, the whole country’s going to hell!” Roberto opined. “Prices for everything are going up. We used to get raises and make money. But now, even if you get a little raise, it’s not enough to cover the cost of anything!”
Juan knew he could get by in the short term, but he worried about the future. “Why’s everything changing?” he asked dejectedly. Once again, he regretted his words. But this time, it was for a different reason. Roberto was sure to ‘educate’ him on why he thought things were changing.
“I’ll tell you why! It’s that stagflation. That’s what it is!” He folded his arms across his massive chest and stared defiantly.
Roberto’s statement begged the question, and Juan was suckered in, “What’s stagflation?”
Roberto grinned at being asked to lecture someone less well-informed than himself about the vagaries of macroeconomics. “Stagflation is when you get high interest rates together with high unemployment. The economy stagnates. That’s where you get the name.”
“How do they fix it?”
“The last time it happened was in the 1970’s,” Roberto made sure to sound important. “We’re too young to remember, but Papi told me all about it. They had to wait in long gas lines, and the price of sugar was high, too.”
“How do they fix it?” Juan repeated, exasperated.
Roberto’s lips pinched together in concentration, “Hmm…” He seemed to be struggling to remember something. “Let me see… Papi told me that Carter was the President then. If I’m not mistaken, the stagflation lasted a long time.”
“How long?”
“For years!” Roberto smiled broadly. He seemed happy to have remembered that awful detail. “Yeah, it lasted for years until Ronald Reagan was elected President.”
“That long?” Juan tried to figure out how many years that had been. “We were just kids then, still living in Mexico.”
“You see?” Roberto smiled broadly. He seemed happy to have proved that America was a depraved society. “Yeah, our only chance is to elect Trump as President again.”
“Mmm,” Juan grunted. That was sure depressing news on this rotten day. His mood grew darker, and he glowered over his beer. “I’m not sure if even he could do it.”
“Cheer up, hermano,” Roberto never seemed to get depressed. As bombastic as he was, it still helped Juan to hang out with him. Roberto lifted his spirits, or at least he kept them from sinking any lower. “We need un hombre masculino to Make America Great Again!”
Juan shot his brother an evil glance, “Are you messing with me?”
“C’mon,” Roberto grinned. “Trump’s your guy. You tell me that all the time. Don’t you believe in what he’s doing?”
Choose Option 1: Juan Doubts Trump
Choose Option 2: Confidence in the MAGA Movement