I have a fair number of friends who voted for Trump, but when I ask them what prompted their decision I most frequently get “Well, Hillary would have been a disaster.” Setting aside for a moment the state of the current administration (I have to resist asking them “So how’s that working out for you now?”), that really isn’t my question. I’m trying to find out exactly what they saw in Trump that made them think he was going to be a successful President. Interestingly (and maybe predictably), it’s becoming harder and harder to find someone who is actually willing to defend the genius currently occupying the White House.
Most fall into the “Anybody but Hillary” camp, or the “All politicians are corrupt and the only way to fix it is to tear it down and start over” camp.
The first group wants to talk about Benghazi and her use of a personal server as evidence of a lack of fitness to be President, and my experience is that there’s no point in trying to reason with them. The fact is that multiple investigations turned up nothing more that some poor decisions, none of which are unique to her nor particularly indicative of unsuitability. But as I said, there’s no point in discussing that with those people; their mind is made up and facts are of no interest. I actually was not all that enamored with Clinton, although most nonpartisan (and even some partisan) evaluations of her stated that she had the experience and ability to be an effective politician.
The other group, that want to “burn it down,” felt that it was exactly Hillary’s qualifications and experience that made her unthinkable as a choice: they wanted almost anyone BUT a career politician. If you want support for that observation, take the fact that approval of BOTH parties in Congress is at an all-time low. There’s a very large group of citizens who are disgusted with the political infighting and lack of any progress in solving the really big problems of our time: health care access, immigration, shrinking of the middle class and so on. And actually I understand their point. We do have a broken political system. The “enemy” is the other party, and any indication of a willingness to compromise is viewed by their hyper-partisan constituency as a betrayal of their core values and is a sure way to get booted out in the next election. So electing an outsider represents a disruption of the status quo and perhaps would lead to innovation and real problem-solving. My question to the “burn it down” group is whether they really think that the bozo they helped elect is going to be able to produce a change in business as usual. So for, it looks like he represents more of the same, except with lots of lying.
The other main group is or course made up of those that actually voted “for” Trump rather than against Hillary or against the existing system. I’ve got a few friends who actually said that they thought Trump was exactly what we need, and frankly, I have no idea how they came to that conclusion.
I’m going to try to find out though. And I want to really find out. Not just to try to convince them they are wrong; not to get talking points for future use, but to really understand what they saw in Trump, and whether they still feel that way. I’ve written before about a book I read a while ago that had a pretty significant impact on my understanding of political viewpoints; it was titled “Moral Politics” and was written by George Lakoff. He’s a cognitive linguist who has written extensively about how the metaphors we live by both shape and are shaped by our lives. Anyhow, I suspect that the reasons that I will eventually hear for voting for Trump (rather than against Hillary) will somehow be wrapped around things Lakoff talks about.
So my plan is to find some Trump supporters who are friends of mine and are open to a non-confrontational but thoughtful conversation. I will promise them that I’m not trying to convince them of anything, make them “see the error of their ways” or in any way be critical of them, but to truly find out how they arrived at the conclusion that Trump was “their guy.”
I really do want to understand. We’ll see how it goes!
About BigBill
Stats: Married male boomer.
Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.
Help me understand
I have a fair number of friends who voted for Trump, but when I ask them what prompted their decision I most frequently get “Well, Hillary would have been a disaster.” Setting aside for a moment the state of the current administration (I have to resist asking them “So how’s that working out for you now?”), that really isn’t my question. I’m trying to find out exactly what they saw in Trump that made them think he was going to be a successful President. Interestingly (and maybe predictably), it’s becoming harder and harder to find someone who is actually willing to defend the genius currently occupying the White House.
Most fall into the “Anybody but Hillary” camp, or the “All politicians are corrupt and the only way to fix it is to tear it down and start over” camp.
The first group wants to talk about Benghazi and her use of a personal server as evidence of a lack of fitness to be President, and my experience is that there’s no point in trying to reason with them. The fact is that multiple investigations turned up nothing more that some poor decisions, none of which are unique to her nor particularly indicative of unsuitability. But as I said, there’s no point in discussing that with those people; their mind is made up and facts are of no interest. I actually was not all that enamored with Clinton, although most nonpartisan (and even some partisan) evaluations of her stated that she had the experience and ability to be an effective politician.
The other group, that want to “burn it down,” felt that it was exactly Hillary’s qualifications and experience that made her unthinkable as a choice: they wanted almost anyone BUT a career politician. If you want support for that observation, take the fact that approval of BOTH parties in Congress is at an all-time low. There’s a very large group of citizens who are disgusted with the political infighting and lack of any progress in solving the really big problems of our time: health care access, immigration, shrinking of the middle class and so on. And actually I understand their point. We do have a broken political system. The “enemy” is the other party, and any indication of a willingness to compromise is viewed by their hyper-partisan constituency as a betrayal of their core values and is a sure way to get booted out in the next election. So electing an outsider represents a disruption of the status quo and perhaps would lead to innovation and real problem-solving. My question to the “burn it down” group is whether they really think that the bozo they helped elect is going to be able to produce a change in business as usual. So for, it looks like he represents more of the same, except with lots of lying.
The other main group is or course made up of those that actually voted “for” Trump rather than against Hillary or against the existing system. I’ve got a few friends who actually said that they thought Trump was exactly what we need, and frankly, I have no idea how they came to that conclusion.
I’m going to try to find out though. And I want to really find out. Not just to try to convince them they are wrong; not to get talking points for future use, but to really understand what they saw in Trump, and whether they still feel that way. I’ve written before about a book I read a while ago that had a pretty significant impact on my understanding of political viewpoints; it was titled “Moral Politics” and was written by George Lakoff. He’s a cognitive linguist who has written extensively about how the metaphors we live by both shape and are shaped by our lives. Anyhow, I suspect that the reasons that I will eventually hear for voting for Trump (rather than against Hillary) will somehow be wrapped around things Lakoff talks about.
So my plan is to find some Trump supporters who are friends of mine and are open to a non-confrontational but thoughtful conversation. I will promise them that I’m not trying to convince them of anything, make them “see the error of their ways” or in any way be critical of them, but to truly find out how they arrived at the conclusion that Trump was “their guy.”
I really do want to understand. We’ll see how it goes!
About BigBill
Stats: Married male boomer. Hobbies: Hiking, woodworking, reading, philosophy, good conversation.