Speaking to the fearful is a messaging challenge. How do you even begin when fear is what Donald Trump is selling...fear of immigrants, fear of crime, fear of being left behind in the economy, fear of others not like themselves. Lack of knowledge is part of it, but changes are going on now that are profound and often felt if not put into words. Some are truly afraid, not because of ignorance but because of societal changes. These changes have been coming for a long time, and those who want to turn back the clock and those who embrace changes to modern society are still clashing. Change comes easy for some, and for others, it scares them. Politicians usually respond by digging in or hurling insults at their opponents to support their immediate public policy issues on immigration, women's role and ability to control their lives, sexual orientation, and election "integrity" that affects minority access to the ballot. Most do not see their fears in the context of history or as part of a larger movement. They just feel it in their bones. Others understand it and ride it to power, as Donald Trump is trying again and again to keep the fear, hate, and victimization exaggerated and heated as his case for election. Only he can fix it, he opines, so vote for him.
What has also become clear is that the fear of these societal changes affects many. Democrats must find a way to recognize the fear, address it, acknowledge it, respect it, and not make it worse. It does not mean agreeing to roll back the clock to 1938 or the 1950s, but perhaps a shift in attitude would help to be more empathetic with policies that respect the fears, acknowledge them, and provide the facts and data that mitigate them. Some will listen. Not everyone has lost their ability to reason and think. In fact, the GOP is losing followers as the number of registered independents has soared, and Democrats have gained some. Voter registration is fluid in 2024 as citizens begin to tune into their choices. That is one part of the equation.
The next step is to go forward and present plans that at least smooth out the rough spots and make the case that even the fearful will be better off in time, more peaceful, and more prosperous. A fanatical minority attempting to seize power and suppress others guarantees chaos, or the less kind word, turmoil, and even violence: endorsing the violence of January 6, using terms like "bloodbath if I don't get elected", "things will be wild," calling the violent actors patriots, and executing generals who fail to obey him, including use of the active military to put down demonstrations by those who oppose him. A platform of revenge, retribution, and favoring loyalty over ability is not how economic prosperity is nurtured.
The good news in political messaging is that optimism usually wins over a darker vision of change for the worse. It is that track that Biden is following. However, it is not a strategy limited to presenting hope and plans for a better future. Biden and his supporters need at every opportunity to point out the contrast with the jarring, violent, racist conflicts Trump is promising to use to promote himself to become a "strong man", dictator, or autocrat. That is not a fabrication of accusations when using Trump's own words and his past and current actions and attempts to verify that Trump is not just bloviating or Trump being Trump. He has already attempted to promote and use political violence in the past. No need to exaggerate or lie. His words are right in your face, and his history and actions speak louder than words.
. https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2020/08/trump-fans-flames-of-violence-yet-calls.html
Some currents underlie the fears felt by many on the right. Society is indeed experiencing rapid change, and many fear it. The following is a personal account of how I came to understand what is happening.
In 1960, after a year abroad and face-to-face with communism and societal and religious cultures, including Islam, I returned to my senior year in college at Northwestern. I had the advantage of independent studies in my senior year, and my focus was on the cultural differences I had encountered, which had been so far removed from my bible belt upbringing in northeastern Oklahoma, or even in Evanston, Illinois, for that matter. I needed to get a better understanding so I could digest what I had just experienced. It shaped my views for a lifetime, including what became issues 65 years later of cultural wars, racism, and civil and individual rights.
Among those classes and studies at Northwestern were standouts: The most impressionable one was examining the clash between traditional societies and religion, which I saw firsthand as my small independent studies group delved into Middle Eastern history and current events. We read the Koran, we read Zionist literature, and we read a book called "A Village in Anatolia," which gave an autobiographical account of a young man, a teacher, from and in a Turkish village with very insightful comments on the role of women and politics in a traditional Turkish society. We concluded that Islam did not practice much "empathy," walking in other people's shoes. Was that wrong? If not wrong, at least it was different. Furthermore, where I grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, neither did the bible belt Christians possess empathy or tolerance.(Oklahoma is one of the heartlands of the current Evangelical Christian movement). Oklahoma, in my youth, was the epitome of Jim Crow. However, our 1960 seminar concluded that there would be a huge, even violent, reaction to modern society that accepted and supported these new attitudes of women's role, tolerance and acceptance of others' viewpoints, and energy production self-interests. (Many in my group were from families engaged in energy development in the Middle East). I was there with a different motivation since I was about to begin life marrying someone from the multi-cultural, ever-clashing Balkans. Mine was no abstract laboratory of thinkers; it was hands-on. Now what?
What I didn't see is that the clash of traditional roles and viewpoints was also affecting Christianity and Judaism, not just Islam. In her book, The Battle for God, Karen Armstrong, published in 2000, brought home the upheaval, the clash between the old and the modern, that was showing itself in full bloom. All three religions had their roots in Abraham's story. What was a sin in all three were similar, and all believed in the same God, though they were called different words in different languages and theological references. However, all three were impacted by the clash of tradition vs modern society, and the reaction was already profound and palpable in politics, wars, revolts, and generational changes in values.
I plead guilty to a lack of empathy. I promise to try to be better at understanding, just as I was able to do in straddling the tolerance and attitudes of a multicultural and multigenerational family myself. However, time marches on, and we have to deal with what is reality now in politics. It does not mean we who embrace modernity have to give that up, but it does mean we have to change our approach and attitudes and show how public policies and political approaches give a chance for all to have their place. The greatest difference between Democrats and the current GOP is that Democrats do not want the government to be the tool for forcing others to adopt cultural and religious practices and beliefs, and the other party wants the opposite.
Here is where I would start. I think the traditionalists go wrong because they want to protect their viewpoints and force others to obey them through government edicts and laws imposed on those who find such viewpoints abhorrent or a painful health or economic burden. What the Democrats must do is point out individuals are not being asked to have abortions or not use contraceptives or IVF, but to let individuals make that choice, respect it, but not force others to bow down and obey their religious-based beliefs and interpretations of scriptures with which they disagree. That has always been the Democrats' stated view, but not the emphasis that what choice means is really a choice, not an edict resulting in a government prosecuting someone. The advantage of Roe v Wade is that it was held up as what the majority of society approved, life begins viability, and it is still the standard with which the overwhelming majority agrees per the polls. It is up to the clergy to make their case that abortion is murder, that life begins at inception, and that the pill is murder, too. Still, it should not be the government's job to be the enforcer in the kind of democracy we have, a multicultural, multi-religious, and diverse population.
Regarding women's role in modern society, those embracing modernism also recognize the economic necessity that requires women to work and have a political voice in shaping their lives so that they are treated fairly and equitably. However, women who choose to stay at home, home-school their kids, or must do that because of either religious beliefs or financial ones deserve respect, too. I have both modernists and dedicated conservative Christians in my family.
The question of sexual identification is another area of enormous cultural conflict. If anything, permitting people to come out of the closet and be open about their choices in life or to be just themselves has been a jolt and no doubt a jarring experience for traditionalists. However, the joy and peace of mind it brings to those now liberated to be free and open about it is to be respected and appreciated, not condemned and criminalized. As with matters of choice and women's roles, no one is forcing or should force anyone to become what they feel they are not. Have a heart, holier than thou people.
Biden was correct when it comes to the fear of immigrants and others. He recognizes an administrative failure to fund and implement existing laws that do provide respect and the goal of the US being a refuge to those who are being prosecuted or are victims of rampant crime in their native lands. Just enforce the existing laws and give the wherewithal to do it. Economic refugees have their place in contributing to the US economy as well, even if access is uncontrolled with open borders. What this approach does is respect a sane approach but eliminates the motivation of hate and fear that permeates the inhumane approach that Trump is exploiting for his political advantage with such racists comments as "adulterating our blood," "murders and rapists," phrases that are not born out by any data or statistics, but are just blanket fear-mongering to make followers think he is the only one who can fix what he promotes as the problem. He is not as the bi-partisan bill passed by the Senate demonstrates. Now, he wants the "crisis" that is not so much of a crisis after all. wait until he controls Congress, both Houses, and the Oval Office, so he can do it his way. Those "blood adulterers, rapists and murderers, human traffickers. and brown people", all of those he tells you to fear and you now believe him, will have another year to flood the borders. The reason is fear is his platform, his ticket to victory, and solving the problem now would take that plank away. Is it possible, fearful of immigrant folks, that you are being played?
Another element in fear-mongering by MAGA is that voter fraud is widespread, so votes do not count, and elections deserve to be overturned. The racist motivation is not disguised since most attempts to suppress the votes are aimed at areas with heavy Black populations. It is no coincidence. " Suppression efforts range from the seemingly unobstructed, like strict voter ID laws and cuts to early voting, to mass purges of voter rolls and systemic disenfranchisement. These measures disproportionately impact people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities. And long before election cycles even begin, legislators redraw district lines that determine the weight of your vote." https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/block-the-vote-voter-suppression-in-2020
https://www.amazon.com/Village-Anatolia-Mahmut-Makal/dp/B0000CISI9
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_for_God for a good synopsis.
Gallup Poll Reveals GOP Party Affiliation Drops as Independent Voter Numbers Soar (msn.com)
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