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 In
his book ex Secretary Robert McNamara said about Vietnam. "We were
wrong, terribly wrong." Writers will be saying the same about Iraq. To
keep the military machine humming Americans were told that the
Communists would take over the world and we would be enslaved. Today
they are saying the same thing about terrorists. The only difference is
military tactics. 
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As
I get older I must admit to a growing pessimism. I see the northern
schools getting more segregated. Workers being shoved aside in favor of
lower wages overseas, Robber barons once again stealing the pocketbooks
of the American people. Where are the people? Will they simply go down
without a whimper?
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David Truskoff
At the end
of World War II, David Truskoff returned to his hometown of
Rutherford, New Jersey after being discharged from the US
Navy with honor, commendations and dreams of a peaceful
world. The naiveté was short lived.
In 1948 he believed in and worked for Henry Wallace, the
Progressive Party candidate.With a communications degree in
his hand, he entered the broadcast industry only to again
find disappointment and the need to continue the fight for
the democracy that FDR promised.During the McCarthy era it
was not possible for him to survive in the broadcast
industry.
With a
family to support, he began a successful career in the
advertising business specializing in the making of TV
commercials, but again found himself unable to remain in the
make-believe world. To return to reality he answered the
call to fight for the rights that American Veterans
expected. As an Area Director for the American Friends
Service Committee he was able to actively oppose the war in
Vietnam and join Martin Luther King in his gallant crusade.
He served as a security guard for the historic Selma to
Montgomery Freedom March of 1965. David was the voice of
Delta Radio during the Mississippi March in June of 1966 and
participated in voter registration drives in dangerous areas
of the south.
The battle goes on in every one of his twelve books.
Visit
David online at
http://users.erols.com/suttonbear
Books-And-Authors.net:
Where did you grow up and was reading and writing a part of your
life? Who were your earliest influences and why?
David Truskoff: I grew up in a very tough, mostly Polish town.
The workers were brought in by the recruiters to work in the
rubber and textile mills. My biggest influence was, of course,
my mother who was an organizer for the International ladies
Garment Workers Union. On my tenth birthday my older sister
Jerry gave me two books, Jewels from the Poets and Short Stories
by Charles Dickens. I read them many times and thought about
being a writer then.
Books-And-Authors.net: Why do you write?
David Truskoff:I write because I have enough ego to think that I
have something important to say.
Books-And-Authors.net: In your new book "What The Hell Is A
Liberal" you open the book with a poem titled 'What The Hell Is
A Liberal' - When and where did you write this poem? Did the
poem spark the book or did the book spark the poem?
David Truskoff: The poem is part of the introduction to the
book. I thought the reader should know a bit about the guy that
writes such stuff.
Books-And-Authors.net: What is your personal definition of a
'liberal'? And why do you think the media has turned the word
''liberal' into a 'dirty word'?
David Truskoff: A liberal is simply one who is honest with ones
self. The instinct to belong and stay safe in the middle of the
herd makes liars out of many. The media is only the mouth out of
which emanates the lies of the greedy and powerful. Liberals
speak of equality and justice, but as the British actor Richard
Burton once said, "It is no fun having money if everybody has
money." That truism is the very station of our society.
Books-And-Authors.net: "What The Hell Is A Liberal" is a
wonderful variety of thought provoking essays. Over what time
span were these essays written? Have any of the essays been
printed or published elsewhere? Example: Newspaper, magazine
etc...
David Truskoff: I chose them from some of my works over the last
year. Yes, they have appeared on many Internet outlets and in
books.
Books-And-Authors.net: In "What The Hell Is A Liberal" you
discuss Vietnam and say that "many believe that Nixon, Kennedy,
and Johnson all knew they were wrong, but they were
powerless..." Please explain.
David Truskoff: There is much documentation to show that Kennedy
wanted to get out of Vietnam. David Halberstam called it " the
wrong war at the wrong time in the wrong place." I think all
three presidents agreed with him, but the political strength of
the anti-Communist military complex that President Eisenhower
warned America about was just too formidable for even a
president to overcome.
Books-And-Authors.net: In your personal opinion, how is the Iraq
War the same as the Vietnam War, politically? How are they
different? How will the Iraq war be viewed a decade from now?
David Truskoff: In his book ex Secretary Robert McNamara said
about Vietnam. "We were wrong, terribly wrong." Writers will be
saying the same about Iraq. To keep the military machine humming
Americans were told that the Communists would take over the
world and we would be enslaved. Today they are saying the same
thing about terrorists. The only difference is military tactics.
The lie is the same and the fear is the same. Young men have to
have some reason to go and kill and be killed. They can't simply
be told it is for oil or empire building. In America, although
we speak of separation of church and state there really is very
little separation. The factor of religion played a big part in
the Vietnam War and is playing a big part today.
Books-And-Authors.net: What's your view on the upcoming
election? What does the next President need to make happen
immediately and why? What should be his/her priority list of
things to do if he/her asked you?
David Truskoff: I did a piece some time ago, well before the
primaries narrowed down to three. I drew a hypothetical meeting
in the White House with Carl Rove presiding. He wanted to see
the half Black guy and Billy's wife chew each other and then
present a real war hero and a white Commander-in-chief.
Republicans can not run on the war issue. They certainly can not
run on the economic issue. They can run on Race and without even
speaking of it that is what they will do.
I think all three candidates will be as helpless to do anything
as most of our Presidents since FDR have been helpless. At any
rate they sure wont be asking me, but if they do I will suggest
as a first step to go back to 1935 and reinstate the FDR
constraints on the robber barons.
Books-And-Authors.net: In "What The Hell Is A Liberal" you write
that your favorite bumper sticker is "The more people I meet,
the more I love my dog." Explain.
David Truskoff: As I get older I must admit to a growing
pessimism. I see the northern schools getting more segregated.
Workers being shoved aside in favor of lower wages overseas,
Robber barons once again stealing the pocketbooks of the
American people. Where are the people? Will they simply go down
without a whimper?
My beautiful dog "Lola" I can trust and revel in her generous
love always
Books-And-Authors.net: What do you hope "What The Hell Is A
Liberal" will accomplish?
David Truskoff: Writers write always with the hope that someone
will read it. I hope that someone will be moved to action.
Books-And-Authors.net: What's next?
David Truskoff: I don't know. I hope I can continue to write.
Perhaps not a book, but I still have something to say.
Books-And-Authors.net: What was the last book you read?
David Truskoff: Dahr Jamail's book Beyond the Green Zone. I like
to think of myself as a realist and that book is for real.
Books-And-Authors.net: Do you have any hobbies? What are they?
How do they enhance your writing?
David Truskoff: I like sports. I always did, but now I am just
a spectator. They enhance my writing by washing my brain. We all
have to do that sometime.
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