Grant Wood painted American Gothic as a portrait of the heartland: hard work, plain living, a farmhouse with a church window. We kept the farmhouse.
Meet Stephen and Katie Miller, as the power they chase has made them. Like Gollum, they once went to school and wore shoes like everyone else. Then they found their precious, and kept stroking it until there was nothing left but claws, a pitchfork and a grudge. They talk endlessly about protecting American values. They crouch in its mud.
His precious is the border: families separated, neighbors deported, cruelty dressed up as policy. Hers is proximity to power. Wherever the most powerful man in the room is standing, she's never far, close enough to feel its warmth and to be seen near it. The cameo brooch and lace collar keep up appearances. The crouch gives her away.
