• Fiction
    • Non-fiction
    • Poetry
  • Arts
  • Features
  • Flotsam
    • About us
    • Submissions
    • Support us
    • Who we are
Menu

The Island Review

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
A haven in the vast and stormy online ocean

Your Custom Text Here

The Island Review

  • Writing
    • Fiction
    • Non-fiction
    • Poetry
  • Arts
  • Features
  • Flotsam
  • About
    • About us
    • Submissions
    • Support us
    • Who we are

Donald Trump, our very own son

March 10, 2016 admin
trump.jpg

By Ian Stephen
 

'Every time I open my mouth some fool speaks.' That is a phrase once attributed to a Stornoway schoolteacher but now the quote could apply to a more distant son of Lewis. The mythology of Donald Trump's mother as the fisherman's daughter from the Isle of Lewis who met her man and her fortune in New York City has been picked up by the international news media including BBCs's Newsnight programme. Their team's flying visit to Lewis was not much longer than the three minutes spared by Mr Trump for his photo-call at the croft house overlooking Broad Bay. But they did manage to photograph the site of that basic house where his mother was born, as well as the obligatory Callanish stones and ruined sheilings on a windswept moor.

The village of Tong is exposed to the northeast winds that have swept down from the Arctic. This could explain a lot. Newsnight's Stephen Smith could not find any islander willing to speak up for the renegade Republican. Several people did point out that his style of oratory was a marked contrast to the quieter and often ironic voice you will still often hear in the Outer Hebrides. In fairness I have to redress the balance by drawing attention to a few aspects of the phenomenal Mr Trump which might not be obvious at first.

Firstly, let's look at the seat of his mother's family. The MacLeods in the village of Tong were ruled by the wind. Fishermen were at the mercy of it – never shown for long. But that has clearly left an effect on subsequent generations. Some people have made very personal comment's on young Donald's hair, suggesting that there may be artificial intervention. But that northeaster has clearly induced an unmistakable wave in the hair of present day Trump-MacLeods.  it is the result of centuries of winds from the high Arctic. When you take proper note of the geography of his half-homeland, it makes perfect sense.

Secondly,  I would like to address the sense of disgrace and responsibility expressed by many islanders. This is nothing new. Another of our families who went across that pond - (remember that we are really next-door neighbours of New Yorkers) gave birth to one Marion Morrison.  He was better known as John Wayne (from the Ness district of Lewis) and this was often mentioned 'back on the rock'. However he did make some very outspoken comments on the subject of the Vietnam War. At 'home' relations were seen to bury their heads in their hands as the macho Marion spoke of a return to patriotism.

Personally, I have not moved very far, in my own life though I have lived at several different addresses in the town of Stornoway. There is a great tradition of widely-travelled islanders returning to question the wisdom of widely held local beliefs. In this respect we can perhaps learn from Mr Trump, as one of the great winners in the business community. I realize that there are different notions of 'success' but I never really understood the concept. From Donald's exemplary story I now know that you have to have about four bankruptcies behind you to be truly successful. Otherwise you must clearly be a 'loser'.

I could tell Newsnight that the strange rise of this politician was much discussed in the street and in the kitchens of our island.  I would also say that an element of apprehension has entered. With each insulting and unreasonable statement his popularity seems to rise. Some of us remember a time when the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin was a long-standing joke in Private Eye. Then it just stopped being funny as the ruler had the power to commit atrocities. I have just returned from a visit to Lahore, Pakistan. I was hosted by a family of publishers and booksellers across three generations.

Of course it was un-nerving to pass a guard with a pump-action shotgun, to enter a bookshop. Then I found something very familiar in the ethos of hospitality, curiosity and debate. it reminded me very much of my own family background, on Lewis. The Lahore Literary Festival went ahead despite the constant threat of terrorism.

There was something very moving in Barrack Obama's admission that he had failed to unite the United States of America. That polarisation can also be seen all across Europe, at present. When zones of conflict range from the Korean border to the Ukraine to the middle-East, it must be a time for reason rather than a pixellated battle of winners and losers. In that light, the wild jester with the fair wave might not be funny any more.

Most people in Lewis have North American cousins. I'd guess that there is something of a sense of illogical guilt - a disgrace in the extended family. I'd also guess that most of us really do feel for our tolerant and liberal friends in the States.  Stephen Smith did ask a fair question, in counterpoint, though it did not survive the edit.  It went something like, 'If Donald Trump is a disgrace to the Island, who is the hero?'

I did not have to think about that. Murdo MacFarlane was known as 'The Melbost Bard. He hailed from a village only a few miles across the tidal head of Broad Bay, from that croft where Donald Trump's mother was raised. His family emigrated to Canada but then returned. Murdo is a hero, not because he came back but because his melodies and lyrics range world-wide from his own sure footing. He made songs of the mechanised tragedy of the First World War but also of the threat to all the world at the height of the Cold War.


Ian Stephen was born on Lewis and lives there still. He is the author of the novel 'A Book of Death and Fish'. This year he is taking part in an exchange between Scottish and Pakistani storytellers and illustrators, in partnership with the Edinburgh Book Festival.

In Non-fiction, Writing Tags Donald Trump, Lewis
← America's best archipelagos#BBCfail in search for Trump on Lewis →

Bringing together great writing and visual art from islands all over the world, we provide a second home for island lovers everywhere. 

The Island Review relies on the generosity of its readers to help with running costs. Please consider making a donation. A small contribution from you can make a really big difference to us.

Popular

Featured
Towards Mount Pantokrator
Towards Mount Pantokrator
Ghosts of the Arctic
Ghosts of the Arctic
isle-land
isle-land
Imagining an Island
Imagining an Island
The Arran Test
The Arran Test
Sacred Island Radio Play
Sacred Island Radio Play
Island artists: Amy Gear
Island artists: Amy Gear
The End of the Road
The End of the Road
Kloya and Klik
Kloya and Klik
Poetry: Lesley Harrison
Poetry: Lesley Harrison
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013

Subscribe

Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates.

We respect your privacy.

Thank you. A confirmation will be in your inbox shortly.

Powered by Squarespace