Letter to a young man who won’t read it

Last night a friend told me her son, eligible to vote for the first time, wasn’t enthusiastic about Joe Biden, so he thought he’d just sit this one out. I was appalled. There is so much I want to say to him and can’t, so I’m saying it here: Voting is a privilege and an obligation if you live in America and enjoy the dwindling benefits of that residency. Even more of an obligation if you’d like to return America to the standards and values we were raised with and have held on to all our lives.

We vote not just for the president, but for an entire new government—from cabinet ministers on down a long list of presidential appointees, including right now attorney general.. And we vote, in 2020, for a totally difference concept of government, one that starts with the “little people.” If you don’t vote, you also miss the opportunity to voice your choice on a long-list of down-ballot state and local officials.

Somewhere I saw a meme that pointed out that voting is not like marriage. You don’t have to fall in love with a candidate—you simply have to make a reasonable choice about who would bring about a better way of life for all Americans. To make that conscientious choice requires some research, study of the platforms, familiarizing yourself with the issues and the positions of various candidates. It should not be a decision based on who appeals to you—that’s falling in love, not politics.

In the upcoming election, the economic issue raises its head. People believe that the economy will do better under trump, though history consistently demonstrates that the economy does better under Democratic administrations than Republican. Right now, the economy is doing great for the one percent, but failing the middle class and the poor miserably—especially people of color.

People claim that we have to open up after quarantine, that the economy is what matters most. I would suggest that human life  matters more. A sick and dying people cannot rebuild a shattered economy like ours. Opening up too soon will eventually leave the economy in worse shape—more deaths, more illness, more fear that will keep people at home, more overuse of health facilties, more cost to the government from unemployment and health care. Germany stands out as a country where workers survived pandemic unemployment almost unscathed, a contrast to America where 40 million are unemployed. (Sorry, you’ll have to research that one, but you will find our government could have used bailout for average workers, hourly employees out of work, instead of bailing out the wealthy and corporations who were not desperate, just greedy.)

A huge part of the problem in our country is the percent of the population that is noncompliant, from ridiculous “virus parties” to the guy next door who won’t wear a mask. Setting the tone for that is the man who calls himself president and refuses to wear a mask, wants mass gatherings of people at rallies and political conventions without disregard to the health concerns. Florida, whose governor is an ally of trump, recently experienced the highest ever one-day spike of new virus cases, after opening up.

It’s almost a circular argument that brings you around to the beginning—vote Blue. No, getting rid of trump will not make everything roses and sunshine immediately. It will take time to rebuild our country, but it is a task we must begin. And it starts with voting out trump and his enablers, including much of the Senate.

A long lecture the young man in question won’t listen to, but I needed to say it. Thanks for listening.

Seeing both sides

What’s that old Judy Collins song with the line, “I’ve seen both sides now”? That’s how I felt this morning. I had a rational, reasonable discussion with a well-educated, articulate, knowledgeable Republican who’s a Trumper. Is there an oxymoron in there somewhere? More than one? This is a young man (he was born well after the Kennedy assassination, which is a topic that fascinates him) I don’t know well, but he’s dear to someone who is dear to me, so I entered this inadvertently but with every effort to be pleasant. In truth, when I said, “You’re not a Trumper, are you?” I fully expected him to deny it. Instead, he said yes, and I was astounded. Where to take the conversation now?

We fell into this because I brought up the issue of sexual predators and knew my friend would want to talk about it but would agree with me. Her partner and I weren’t too far apart, though he apparently thinks most accusers are lying and that the yearbook sentiment by Roy Moore was forged—I hadn’t heard that but haven’t checked it either. On the other hand, referring to the Franken first accuser, he said photos don’t lie. I pointed out I’d heard the photo was staged, and he moved right on to, “There are other accusers.” He didn’t say much about accusations against the president, but he agrees with me that the sitting president is an uncouth boorish man. He’s willing to put up with that to get the things done the WH occupant wants to do. All along, he had done more research, had more arguments to back him up than I did.

But I think that’s part of the conservative/democrat difference—conservatives are all about hard facts and fail to show any human compassion, to take in the caring side of things, which is part of the principles this country was founded on. The founding fathers were offering people freedom, not building empires.

Then, somehow, we got to immigration, and I was clearly outclassed in argumentative fuel. He had a good grasp of the political tendency of this country for the last twenty-five years. Using Silicon Valley as a example, he talked about companies who terminate employees and tell them, “Your replacement is from India, and you will have to train him/her.” Clearly, cheap labor wins out over patriotic loyalty. It’s not a foolproof argument, but he made me see immigration as an economic issue rather than solely a racial one. And it explains much of what’s happened to our economy.

Of Mexico and the wall, he says the Mexican government is hypocritical, because they have stricter immigration laws than we do and a stronger border on their south, prohibiting immigration from South American countries.

Of outsourcing manufacturing, he says it’s a clear choice: do the patriotic thing, keep your factory here, and go broke because you can’t compete with those who manufacture so much more cheaply overseas or in Mexico. For him, it all comes down to any businessman will do whatever he can to make more money. Patriotism doesn’t enter in, nor does compassion. My verbal opposite says there are provisions in the new tax code that will bring some of that tax revenue to this country.

Our conversation, which had previously been lighthearted and full of laughter, had turned dark, and my good friend ended it when she said, “I’m not enjoying this conversation very much.” Later, she confessed that their darkest moment as a couple had come in a similar discussion. He did not convert me, not as he protested did he mean to, but it was an eye-opening experience.

I cling to the belief that most Trumpers are not as well educated nor as versed on the issues. They vote out of misplaced emotion and, perhaps, anger at “the way things are.”

An interesting breakfast, to say the least.