Post Election
The other day I had a conversation with my Aunt about the election. I was shocked when I found out my aunt voted for Trump, but not too surprised as my uncle is a wealthy white man. Of course being the fire starter I am, I immediately questioned her decision. I wanted to know what her reason was for supporting such an awful person. I feel there are two types of trump supporters, the ones that see his flaws and support him because of those flaws (racism), and those who see his flaws but are fed misinformation and lies in order to get their vote regardless. I found it was the latter for my aunt, of course she's not prejudiced and acknowledges Trump’s un American views on immigration and other social issues. Like many other citizens in our country, Trump stole her vote by lying to her. She truly believed, based on whatever information bubble she is stuck in, that Joe Biden was cheating the election and ruining our democratic process. Being a Korean immigrant things like this scare her. The idea of her freedom being taken away when she came to this country in order to be free scared her enough to vote for Trump. Also having grown up with the fear of communism in her heart makes her and other immigrants the perfect targets for his harmful rhetoric about communism and socialism. His fear mongering and lies have won him the support of half the country. When I saw the election results were so close I was sad. I did not want to believe so many people in this country were so hateful, but I failed to realize at the time that almost half of those votes were likely cast by misinformed Americans. Trump’s presidency has introduced an era of misinformation and “fake news” that has polluted the minds of so many of us, and I fear the right wing will continue to use this tactic to gain support. When you have a political party who does not care about its constituents and will do anything to take advantage of their lack of information, then it is no wonder we have almost half the country believing in lies and misdirection. By the end of the conversation i was able to get her to understand that based on policy alone, ignoring all other media/political influence, she is actually more in favor of Joe Biden. We need to be more focused on policy. If people would focus on the bread and butter issues of our country rather than trying to play teams and pick sides then we could actually get somewhere. Neither of the candidates for president were very focused on their policy goals and I find that very sad. It is time we hold these politicians responsible for taking our attention off of the real issues such as poverty and wasting our time with identity politics and partisanship.
I agree with you Patrick that it is time that politicians are held accountable for their actions, but unfortunately I don't think that is going to happen or that anything will change. I say that because our political parties don't have to listen to us, but instead promise that things will change and then forget about those promises.
ReplyDeleteIt's true we have to remember that not all who voted for Trump are fanatics. I heard a commentator in the first days after the election saying that everyone who voted for Trump “are saying with that vote that they support Misogyny and Racism.” I really don’t think shaming Trump supporters is the right way to go, it will only make them more drawn to that side. I think there are certainly plenty of his supporters who fall into the fanatical category and blindly support him and his racist/sexist behavior, but I feel those are not the majority. Then there are those who see the bad in Trump but are misinformed like you said. There is another group who don’t like him but are one issue voters and hold their nose while voting for him, simply because that’s the side that their personal issue landed on. I also think a large number of people voted for him, in this election specifically, because they’re afraid. History shows that during tumultuous times, people tend to vote for the candidate who seems “stronger” because it makes them feel safe. (like Nixon in the late 60s/early 70s, or Reagan during the height of our tension with the Soviet Union)
ReplyDeleteIts human nature to look at things and lump them into either one category or another, but we have to resist the urge bundle all Trump voters in the category of fanatical racists who can’t be reached, because it’s not accurate and will only push the division further. We have to remember that people are for the most part decent and reasonable, and that we can find common ground through conversation. The problem is that instead of conversation, now we have two isolated groups becoming echo chambers, that occasionally interact with the other side to yell or insult, rather than have meaningful discussion. We need to work things out as a country, not by just condemning the opposing side, but by trying to reach them through conversation.
Rampant misinformation--let's just call it what it is, LYING--and vast viral ignorance all across the land is the root of the crisis facing democracy in America. Too many of us live in Fantasyland (if you haven't read Kurt Andersen's eponymous book, I urge you to). A percentage of Americans always have, but Internet bubbles have pushed us dangerously near a final tipping point. I don't want to echo Tyler's pessimism, but nothing WILL change if we don't find a way to burst more of those bubbles.
ReplyDeleteThe good news is that many of you are "woke" to this situation. Maybe enough of you. Teach your children well and we might be alright.