We last met under a cloud of uncertainty about the election outcome and its consequences for the "human game." Is it yet possible to declare "a single, overarching lesson" that begins "Never underestimate the power of _____"? 191
I would have to say one lesson to take from the last four years and our most recent election, is to never underestimate the power of a good marking campaign. As I write this, I am cringing at my assessment that Trump's marketing campaign was in any way good. The reason I am cringing at this is because it is hard to imagine that his incoherent twitter rants, juvenile name calling, and vile remarks about various groups of people, would appeal to anyone. But apparently, they do... and to a lot of people too.Before 2016, I think most of us knew that there were still a lot of Americans who thought this way, but I don't think we realized just how many there were. We certainly wouldn't have guessed that there would be enough to elect Trump for his first term and to give him such a high voter turnout the second time around. I think that Trump won the first time because he saw this group of people and knew what they wanted most—empowerment. He gave them just that. His whole campaign was centered around giving them a platform on the biggest stage in the world. His marketing campaign was good because it targeted its audience well and turned them into an extremely loyal, energized fanbase, willing to buy anything he's selling.
What are your thoughts?
What can we do with this lesson? Well, our initial approach to writing Trump supporters off as a "basket of deplorables" wasn't working. For one, it demonized a large portion of Americans which is generally not a good thing to do if we want to work together. But it also fueled the narrative of Trump's marketing campaign that the left doesn't care about them. I am happy to see Biden choosing to speak to all Americans regardless of who they voted for, because doing so is an essential step toward healing together as a country and dispelling the narrative that the left is out to get the right.
As we continue to move forward, we need to take a careful look at Trump's base and figure out what they are really asking for underneath the rhetoric. Is it jobs, safety, healthcare, validation, etc? We need to pinpoint what those issues are, because I suspect there is a lot more overlap with the issues than all of us realize. If we can adjust our marketing campaign a bit to show how people on the right will benefit from the left's platform too, maybe we can bring some of them to our side, or at least start the conversation. I think we're heading in that direction, which is comforting. Let's continue to lead with compassion (even when it may be difficult). As Michelle Obama said, "When they go low, we go high."
By the way, I said a lot of them "us" and "them" in this post. I did so for the sake of clarity. I don't want to assume that everyone here identifies 100% with the left. I also regret that the words "us" and "them" may carry a sort of implication that the right and the left are well-defined, separate groups of people, when in reality the two sides exist on a spectrum where most Americans fall somewhere in the middle.
What are your thoughts?
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Weekly Summary:
11/12—This blog post
11/12—Comment on "Questions Nov 9-11"
11/12—Comment on "Questions Nov 9-11"
Total: 57
I think you are right Heather in that we need the President to try and heal the divide between our political parties, as the current polarization is not conducive to the health of our nation. As for how Trump rallied his base in 2016 it's pretty simple, he just stoked our countries nationalism by doing simple things like building a wall to keep out illegals or bringing jobs back to America.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit it, but sadly Trump (or maybe is team of whoever) is a lot smarter than I would like to admit. I too believe that unfortunately his campaign was pretty well laid out and directed at such a specific group of people we were not aware existed to such an extent to have him win. I think in order to move forward, we have to get our hands dirty. Its been too long of playing nice and it has not gotten us very far. I hate to say it but in order to go high, we first have to go low.
ReplyDeleteSmart? Maybe. But what they lack in smarts they more than made up in ruthlessness and lack of principled integrity. Never underestimate the power of perfidy.
DeleteHillary was talking about the Drumpf inner circle as deplorable, as I recall, not tarring all Drumpf voters as such. But it was inevitable that those remarks would backfire. "Deplorable" is still the right word for them, in my opinion, but she should have been clearer in calling out the behavior and not labeling individuals. You're right, Heather, that's not a winning strategy.
ReplyDeleteBut... I don't think it's "going low" to call a spade a spade. It's just smarter and more diplomatic in politic, perhaps, not always to use the "best words"...