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REILLY: Progress outside the progressive echo chambers

Understanding the stances of Trump supporters is crucial to real progress

Many important discussions have taken place over the past week to help a confused population make sense of a confusing election. Some have placed blame on mistakes of the political establishment, populism and fake news on social media. Many have demonized Donald Trump supporters, deeming them as being racists, misogynists, Islamophobes, xenophobes and homophobes, but these sorts of statements are problematic and unproductive. Hyper-partisanship is toxic to our nation, and we as educated, energetic citizens must do a hell of a lot better to avert this course of history on which we find ourselves. The lines of division lie along the left-right political axis, across racial groups, and between progressive and traditional ways of thinking. To repair the divisions in society which started growing long before this election, we the educated elite must attempt to empathize with those who harbor prejudiced feelings so that meaningful dialogue and reform can be possible.

In the short term, Trump supporters should no longer be held accountable for the worst examples of Trump’s statements and actions. While some may indeed have felt their prejudices validated by his behavior, even the most hate-filled Trump supporters are more than the labels we give to these forms of hate. Many of the issues which captivated their attention are not without merit. A factory worker has good reason to oppose the the Trans-Pacific Partnership when foreign markets may shut down their lifelong employer. It’s also not unreasonable for a business owner to oppose the Affordable Care Act after losing profit to expanded employee benefits. But we ignore these complexities and toss labels on people. “He’s a Trump supporter.” Progressively minded citizens should know how to look beyond labels.

Only once we develop this basic level of empathy can we begin to work toward progress — progress that doesn’t involve labelling the bulk of Trump’s supporters as idiots and racists. Back in the primaries I had lunch with my quite literal Quaker of a mother and her seemingly innocuous friend whom I’ll call Pat. Pat dropped some conversational bombs between bites of Pad Thai from describing NBA players as “knuckle-dragging neanderthals” to making statements about “welfare queens.” Pat confidently believes she is not a racist, and the act of calling her such would only cause alienation and resentment and make meaningful dialogue impossible.

The act of calling out a racist as such, as many have indiscriminately done to all Trump supporters, may light liberals’ own progressive hearts afire, but such actions do not address the real issue — the prevalence of such discriminatory and divisive thoughts in the minds of our fellow Americans. While bringing attention to acts of cultural appropriation and microaggressions may further reform an already socially-conscious individual (which is good), such considerations may go right over the heads of less progressive thinkers. This raises the question: what is the alternative?

The best answer I have is itself a problem. People say a person is the average of their friends, so if we do not approach and befriend those persons whose political and social beliefs are dangerous to our country, we must expect the beliefs to persist. Angry Facebook posts (I am guilty) among educated peers are not going to cut it. We can only impart our understanding by meaningfully interacting with people who do not share our beliefs. This gives off strong vibes of sneaky liberal patronization, but the essence of my message is that the discourse our country needs cannot be conducted at arm’s length.

But it’s too easy to not do this — to not engage with people we consider cruel and ignorant. It’s easy because advances in communication technology have made it so. It’s easy because talking to prejudiced individuals is incredibly uncomfortable (looking at you, Pat) and sometimes painful. It takes effort and patience. It may not be as immediately gratifying and cathartic as yelling into progressive echo chambers. Never has it been easier to choose the company of those with whom we agree, but this election has revealed that we agree with fewer Americans than we once believed.

Many of you probably want to scream at me by this point. Here I am a straight, whiter-than-mayo male telling everyone to calm down and open your loving arms to those who could not care less about (non-firearm-related) civil rights. Neither my reproductive rights nor my right to marry whom I love are at risk under a conservative Supreme Court. Delayed justice system reform will scarcely impact my day-to-day life and it will affect the lives of harassed and wrongfully imprisoned Hispanic Americans and African-Americans. So be angry (or dead inside)! You have every right to be. But once the stages of grief have passed, we must learn from this election if anything is to change.

Trump’s election to the presidency has brought a cloud of uncertainty over grounds, and in response we have reminded one another that love trumps hate. We should also remind ourselves that hate for those with whom we fundamentally disagree is still hate. Empathy, on the other hand, may be leveraged to bring about the change we desperately need in the hearts and minds of far too many Americans.

Jeremiah Reilly is a fourth-year College student.

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