I composed the open letter (below) a few weeks ago, and sent it to my daughters--both smart, professional mothers and admirably part of the #MeToo Movement. Both thought it would not have much impact on actual Trump supporters, and instead suggested reaching out to the far more numerous NON-voters. One sent me this pie-chart, which is both funny and sad:
In my state of Indiana, only 28% of the eligible population voted in the 2014 midterm elections--the lowest turnout of any of the 50 states! So I agree: no use trying to win over the Trump supporters, who seem unmovable. Rather, get out the vote among non-voters, and especially young people, women, and minorities.
Below is the unsent letter.
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Dear Fellow Americans, who
support Donald Trump,
You and I
probably have little in common, except for our love for country. I expect
you feel neglected, marginalized, fearsome. I do not feel any of those
sentiments, though I understand them. I am a retired professor, and I am
comfortable, secure, safe, and happy among my family and friends. You
probably worry about your future, your job, your retirement, your kid’s
future. I don’t worry about those things so much for my family, but I do
about yours.
What we do not have in common is our support for
Donald Trump.
I understand, to an extent, why you voted for him and support him still.
He railed against the political and economic elites, and you supported him in
that. I shared those sentiments too. The rich are too rich, and they have
rigged the system for themselves. Government is dominated by special
interests, with unprecedented numbers of lobbies in Washington, and practically
unlimited flow of funds from special interests to politicians.
But Trump is not the one to
solve these problems. Indeed, he is a manifestation of them: a
billionaire who has made his money by gaming the system, intimidating his
lessers (as he sees them), and feathering his own nest. Never in his
life before the presidency did he promote the public good or support those less
advantaged than he is. His only charitable foundation was meant mostly as
a tax dodge, and did almost nothing to support any deserving group or
organization.
Most of our
politicians and public officials have at least some measure of concern for the
public good, and almost all of them exhibit some public virtues. Trump has none. It
is hard to come up with a single human or American virtue that he
exhibits. He is vane, egocentric, rude, abusive, unfaithful. He is
a bully, an adulterer, an atheist. He demeans women, minorities, the poor
and the weak. He insults our friends and allies, and praises dictators and
demagogues. He belittles education, science, nature. He even seems
dismissive of democracy and the rule of law.
We need
someone who will transform the system, both domestic and international, and
make it more responsive to ordinary people. But Trump is
not the one to do this. Indeed, he is a huge threat to the gains this
country has already made on behalf of ordinary citizens, including especially
working men and women.
Nothing
much gets done in a society without power. The great idea of democracy is
that it vests power in the people. But there are many competing sources
of power in society. For a long time, in human history, it was the church
or monarchies that exercised such power. Since the 18th century, the
major sources of power have been governments and corporations.
Governments controlled by the people—democracies—are meant to be the main
repository of power and the main counterbalance to corporate power. If
democratic governments are weakened, corporations become more powerful.
And corporations are subject to no democratic control apart from government.
So, when
Donald Trump aims
to eviscerate government, he is weakening democracy—the power of the
people. Weakening democratic government strengthens corporate
power. This is a tremendous advantage to people like Donald Trump. It doesn’t much
help people like you and me.
The answer
is not to weaken government, but to make it more democratic, and more
responsive. It is true, and eminently demonstrable, that American
society has recently become more unequal and less democratic. The answer
is not Donald Trump,
but a reinvigoration of true American values—of freedom, equality, fairness, community,
respect and genuine representative government.
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