Dirty Franks in Philadelphia is the best bar in the world, and it was there that I met two young men, both 29, who work for the Department of Defense as engineers outfitting naval vessels. They are, as the kids say, pretty based, or are sure of themselves.
The pair of guys asked that I not use their names or pictures, they wouldn’t even tell me who they are voting for, though one of them smiled and said, “You can probably guess.” And I could.
They were both Zyn users (smoke-free nicotine that comes in pouches) and I asked if they were using it to quit smoking, or just took it up.
“I smoke now and then,” one said.
“But other people’s cigarettes?” I suggested.
“Yeah,” they laughed.
I was curious if they were in a union as DoD employees, “We have some kind of union,” I was told. “Once a year I have to vote whether to keep it, I always vote ‘no,’ but we always keep it.”
We talked about the state of the country, the things you are or aren’t allowed or supposed to say, and they don’t care about the orthodoxy.
The more I talked to these guys the more I realized, they aren’t just anti-woke, they are immune to it. As a Gen Xer, the accusation of racism or bigotry still carries an a priori pang, not so for these gents, they just don’t buy it.
A few hours before, I had met a 27-year-old with a degree from Drexel working at a law firm, and he exuded the same, I don’t know, I want to call it nonchalance, but there’s an unfamiliar swagger to it.
“One of them is gonna win, at least it will be over,” he told me, adding, “whatever.”
That final word hung like neon in my mind, “whatever,” the anthem of my generation.
About a month ago, I started to notice that men in their 20s are way, way more open to former President Donald Trump than their peers in their 30s and 40s. It is a fascinating phenomenon, and I’m convinced that if Trump wins, it will be on the back of union members and Gen Z men.
But why is this happening? As the father of a 14-year-old … boy? Teenager? What do I call him now? Anyway, I have some insight.
When he was 11, he sent a text to me and his mother, also a journalist. It was a picture of a public-school form he had to fill out asking if he was transgender.
At 11 years old, I even got a column out of it, scooping his mom.
The point is that America’s young men have been swimming in a sea of madness for their whole lives, and they know it. And the same people who ask them, “Are you absolutely certain what your gender is?” are shocked to discover they don’t find Trump to be particularly abnormal.
That was the revelation I had that night!
As the night went easily along, one of the guys at Franks finally said, “can I get a cigarette?” the other chimed in, “me too.” I was more than happy to oblige.
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And there we were in the chilly Philadelphia fall of red brick and moonlight, three men, smoking and talking about life without filters or guilt. You could see why Trump appeals to them. At the end of the day, he’s one of the boys.
The next morning, I was smoking a cigarette with a to-go coffee cup outside my hotel and I let out a slight sigh. Because it’s Philly, some guy noted, “Dude, you’re the Ben Affleck meme,” which was a nice first laugh of the day.
Across the street, I saw a young woman on a stoop, long black hair falling on her knees, head down, she looked sad and lost. I had an instinct to ask if everything was OK, but I knew that would be weird.
A minute or two later, she stood up, looking fine and happy, and I realized she had just been looking at her phone. But it was amazing how much that pose mimicked the forlorn, almost 19th Century painting, image of her I had imagined.
I have no idea if she is voting for Vice President Kamala Harris. The numbers would certainly suggest it, but I’m pretty sure the guys I met the previous night would be canceling out that vote.
The future of our country is in the hands of these young men and women, who are very different from each other, but also very sincere about who they are, and a reason for hope.
