Hands up who’s surprised Trump is getting so many US votes? Lots of people around me were actually expecting it – interesting, though, that the pre-election polls didn’t show it. Perhaps, people I’ve spoken to were so surprised when he won in 2016, that nothing can surprise them now – especially after the year we’ve had.
I’m no political analyst and it’s dodgy territory to talk publicly about your personal preference on how you’d like to see a country run. That said, it’s sociologically fascinating to understand the conditions and dynamics which encourage people to vote as they do.
The easiest thing to do is polarise the views of a population. I’m left-wing, she’s right. I’m Republican, he’s a Democrat. I’m right, they’re wrong. It gives a solid unbending narrative for your beliefs, values and behaviour. It also opens up the ability to demonise the ‘other’ and be baffled by their thoughts and decisions.
Humans have an intrinsic value, not judged on how educated you are, how you look, how much you earn, or your political beliefs. Compassion, kindness, fairness and empathy are all virtuous traits that reinforce this intrinsic value. So it’s understandable that when you see a leader acting cruel, unjust, unfair and selfishly, you instinctively assume others wouldn’t stand for this.
People quite often have blindspots though.
It’s comforting to surround yourself with others with the same lifestyle, opinions and social positions. In fact, it’s quite difficult to blur the lines of social-stratification, unless you work in say social or health care. Often, you’re surrounded by like-minded people, especially the wealthier and more educated you get. So it’s hard to fathom how “the other half” live.
Take Trump as an example, there are almost quarter of a million people dead in the US because of Covid-19, the economy as a result is shot, and he’s sprouted racist, misogynistic drivel the whole time. Yet, people have turned out in droves to elect him back in again.
Rather than trying to understand why an individual thinks different to you, widen the lens and consider what social conditions might result in a large portion of society valuing the economy over Covid-19, as the exit polls showed. People on low-incomes, living on the bread-line, afraid for their jobs. Maybe they’ve been “let down by the system” all their lives; they’ve felt alienated by politics and have viewed those in power as the stuffy, privileged, private-schooled elite.
Death comes knocking at the door with a pandemic, and it’s just one more shit thing they have to deal with.
Biden has pulled in large votes from the coastal urban states, but it’s Trump that the middle rural states identify with – disillusioned with traditional politics and empowered by a leader who goes against the grain, speaks his mind and sticks two fingers up to the establishment. Trump being clever has co-opted their views under the pretence he’s a man of the ‘real’ people – when in reality he’s so far from the white, struggling, lower-working-class existence it’s untrue. Turkeys voting for Christmas comes to mind.
Disregarding half a nation’s views, for me, shows an intriguing human trait to perceive a society from our internal projections. It also reinforces a divide, which is difficult to cross, mentally. It’s less effort to call someone stupid, angry or racist than to put yourself in that person’s shoes. Not as a chance to change your point-of-view, but in an attempt to understand why they became so angry, which let’s face it is just a symptom of fear and sadness.
Through empathy and compassion there might then be an opportunity to work together to improve the conditions which have led to such sadness. It starts with an open-mind…
the three free spirits. 