It’s a shame that, as a centrist who voted for Harris, I worry what will be said if I congratulate the Republican Party and by extension President Trump on its victory this election. To be sure, I have never liked Trump or his rhetoric and I feel like the party as a whole has leaned into some of his negative character traits too much and excused too much, but the Republicans in my life have, in general, been kind loving people about as often the Democrats in my life and I have listened to both sides of the aisle.
In fact, that is truly what I want to talk about: listening. Since the Democratic Party lost, most of this will pertain to them, but what I’m talking about is, I believe, more universal.
Consider this truth: if you found the Republican victory “shocking” and it seemed to you like every indicator showed Harris was the likely winner or that it would at least be a close race, there are probably a few issues at play.
How diverse are your news sources in terms of political background? I hope you have more than one and that you go out of your way to listen, not to memes of the opposing party or soundbites shared from your side that cast them in the worst light, but to long form debates or discussions they are having. The diminishment of radios and newspapers and the rise of places like TikTok and X, for all the good they can bring, means that our attention is often held by clips not long enough to delve into the meat of real topics. They skim the surface. I am probably as guilty of skimming the surface as many in many areas, but I have tried to seek out long-form content from both sides to try to understand not only the issues at hand, but the people who hold them dear. I’ve listened to Trump on the Lex Fridman podcast and Harris on the Club Shay Shay podcast. If there is one long YouTube video I could recommend right now it would be a debate on The Free Press between Sam Harris and Ben Shapiro, both intelligent and articulate individuals who disagree on many topics, who clearly voted for opposite sides, and yet who can talk to reasons as to why to vote for one side over the other and yet admit to the excesses of their party.
But it goes deeper than purely what media you consume.
Who are your friends or associates and who do you either block from Facebook or otherwise block from your life? I’ve made a point to never block anyone for their political views and it keeps me in the loop as to why people are voting for who they are voting for. It goes into how many social spaces you have outside of home and work - some of church, school, or the playground like I do, but it’s also so easy to stay inside and curate what we read or listen to. And with this it’s easy to think of the other side bad or evil or out to get you personally. That sort of distorted thinking should be challenged and changed.
Third, what environment do you foster for free speech? Clearly not enough. The polls are an indication of this. If you are surprised at the election results and nobody around you said they were voting for Trump or had anything good to say ever about the Republican Party or its ideas, it could be because of reasons 1 and 2 I gave, or it could be because the people around you feel societal pressure not to do so, feel like they will be labeled for doing so. Oh yes, I am well aware of the things Trump has said demonising people from the Democratic Party, but I’m not talking about him or Harris - I’m talking about you and me and those around us. Already online I’ve seen people on the Democratic side throw fits online and describe how half the country clearly has it out for them or doesn’t care about them or wants them dead. Such hyperbole isn’t helpful and it certainly isn’t true. I hate to see either side vilify the opposing side, but it happens far too often. Talk to people and get to know people. Be slow to anger and patient with others.
There’s more I could add, but I’m busy. Suffice it to say, I have reason to hope that the next four years won’t bring disaster and could even bring good - and that reason is I do honestly believe that the majority of the people who voted on both sides are people, even mostly good people. If you aren’t careful, you will be fed the worst of it and you can keep yourself isolated, but you can also break out and listen to those around you a little bit more. There are issues beyond the character of the President that matter to people and are so crucially important to them that it determines their vote more than anything else. And having listened to you, each of you on both stages, I understand you and love you even if we don’t agree. And we might even agree more often than you think! I won’t judge you for the bad actors on your stage, but instead seek to get to know you off the stage. If anyone from either party wants to talk to me know this:
I’m listening.
