The Qualities of a Likely Democratic Voter
I'm not a big fan of labels – "liberal",
"progressive", "leftist", "socialist",
"democratic socialist", etc.
People can (and often do disagree) about the definitions and application
of these labels. Worse, people with bad
intentions can twist and demonize them, and use them to discredit good people
and policies. Much more interesting to
me are the qualities someone espouses (aka "values").
For the purposes of this post I'm going to assume that all
the above labels are shades (albeit sometimes valuable distinctions) of the
same thing: Someone who is philosophically
opposed to Trump and Republicans in general, and is highly likely to vote for a
Democrat.
Let's call these people Likely Democratic Voters (LDV).
So if you care about & advocate for:
– Helping people other than you & yours, you might be an
LDV.
– People who have been historically oppressed/disenfranchised,
you might be an LDV.
– Addressing the imminent threat to the future of humans on
this planet, you might be an LDV.
– Addressing extremes of wealth inequality, you might be an
LDV.
– Minimizing the suffering, pain and death of others, you
might be an LDV.
etc., etc.
To me, the key qualities which I believe make up an LDV (in
some proportion) are empathy, fairness, caring, an open mind, kindness, and a
belief in the human spirit. Most of
these qualities have at some point been publicly demonized and/or ridiculed by
Republicans.
Empathy is an interesting one for me – I've noticed its
absence in all the Republicans I know personally. I also think it's a key component in good
comedy – which is probably why there are no good Republican comedians.
I honestly believe that the American public rewards politicians
who have strong qualities/values and who stand by them (even when they don't completely
agree with them), someone who "walks the talk". Policies are important too, but more often because
they are a concrete way for politicians to express those values. This is something that Republicans have intuitively
understood for a long time (hence the fabled "values voter").
Perhaps we should look for these qualities & values in
candidates, and how they manifest in their policies and the emphasis they place
on them – instead of just labeling the candidates like commodities and losing
the qualities and values which make them unique – and electable.
posted by Trendar @ 2:08 PM
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