There are kind, compassionate, wonderful people who vote for Trump (and NO, I am not voting for him).
If this sounds radical to you, I understand. If it feels like an oxymoron, I understand. I was there.
As someone who has identified as far left as one can get most of her life (or so I thought), it was a hard realization. I disregarded many of the issues on the right side of the political spectrum as fueled by selfishness. I reduce those that voted that way to lesser humans (that is the same principle used in racism by the way). Four years ago, I felt betrayed by anyone who voted for Trump and I know a lot of my friends and family still feel that way. I get it. I also likely would have stayed in that place if it wasn't for the party I most identified with politically taking an opposite stance on an issue I feel strongly about... medical freedom. Freedom to choose what we put into and do with our bodies.
As someone who has identified as far left as one can get most of her life (or so I thought), it was a hard realization. I disregarded many of the issues on the right side of the political spectrum as fueled by selfishness. I reduce those that voted that way to lesser humans (that is the same principle used in racism by the way). Four years ago, I felt betrayed by anyone who voted for Trump and I know a lot of my friends and family still feel that way. I get it. I also likely would have stayed in that place if it wasn't for the party I most identified with politically taking an opposite stance on an issue I feel strongly about... medical freedom. Freedom to choose what we put into and do with our bodies.
For me, if you believe woman should be able to choose on issues of abortion, how can you also tell woman they have to inject chemicals into their children's bodies for them to have the consitutional right of a free and public education? I believe in publically financed elections and a basic minimum wage. I feel strongly about child abuse laws and laws that protect the environment. I believe plastic water bottles should be banned and plastic of most kind in general. These take away freedom of choice. I also think we have to be very careful about eliminating freedoms and civil liberties? What is child abuse? Is it homeschooling? Is it allowing your nine year old to take the New York subway alone? Is it not vaccinating? Some believe those things qualify. I do not. Sometimes those types of decisions made by parents allow the government to get too involved. I do not have all the answers, I am often confused these days, and overwhelmed when faced with a ballot. I also know that I am growing. Growth is painful. In conversations with friends and family, I am often left with no answers to the questions, but feelings instead that are so strong I have to look inside for the answers.
About eight years ago, I got involved in a movement trying to protect medical freedom here in California. I left my family for every weekend and evenings for close to six months to fight against a bill in our legislature. Even though I had minored in political science, worked as an intern in DC for the children's defense fund and for congressmen, I had never been so involved and seen up close as much as I did in that time period. It changed me. It opened the door to seeing what I thought was a far left hippy issue as one tea party members also felt strongly about. It opened the door to so much more too. For the first time in my life, I had people who felt differently than me about a wide range of issues also agreeing with me on medical freedom. I had so many hard and difficult conversations and I grew from those. I understood gun rights in a new way. I was forced to consider the other side of many issues. I was forced by respect and compassion to consider others with ideas radically different than those I aligned with. I was forced to see that there are about a million different kinds of people and not just democrats and republicans. We just do not fit into a box that easily.
I dare to say that this is happening on a much larger scale as a society with the policies surrounding Covid, that is... if we are open enough to listen, consider, and acknowledge. It blows my mind that an actual tenent of viruolgy like herd immunity has become a poltical term and if you believe in that basic tenet of a virus at all, somehow you are a republican. What?!
There is a quote in the movie, The American President.
"America is advanced citizenship. You have got to want it bad. You want free speech? Lets see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who is standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours."
I do not believe that America is the best country in the world because that to me says all other countries and their citizens are lesser than Americans. I would change the quote to Citzenship in general or perhaps democracy. None the less, this quote comes up for me a lot.
What I see happening in our country scares me. I see the division between the right and left getting larger. I see the hole left by that division being filled with anger, rage, and hate. And not just from those who identify with Trump. I see it quite strongly from democrats as well. Terms like anti-vaxxer and anti-masker are belittling. I was in a situation where I was mistaken for someone who was hispanic (long story), and I was treated the worst I have ever been treated by a stranger until they found out I was white and there was a sudden shift to kindness. This is the first time I was able to actually feel what may=ny would refer to as white priveldge. My ideas about the state of the world as illustrated above are all over the place.
If we really want to unite as country or as a species, it needs to begin with listening and with consideration.... consideration that all of us are human, we are all one and what we do to one, we do to ourselves. And for me this means acknowledging that Trump is human, that he cares about things and has feelings, the way we all do. I cannot dismiss him as evil and all who vote for him as evil and inconsiderate even if their words make my blood boil. Consideration is the first step to unity. This is the only thing I know for sure.
