An Open Letter to Trump Supporters

I suspect that, at this point, people who support Donald Trump's candidacy for President of the United States fall into two main categories:

• Racists, Sexists and Xenophobes – no explanation necessary
• People who have completely lost faith in government and would prefer to blow the “MF’er” up

To group number one, I feel sad and sorry for you.  It is tragic to think about how terrible your lives must be that you choose to blame your personal circumstances on the weak and marginalized among us. You represent the absolute worst of our instincts, and the absolute opposite of the principals that conservatives in this country claim to fight for.  These people simultaneously complain about the “takers” who rely on the government instead of “pulling themselves up by their bootstraps”, while blaming their lot in life on everyone but themselves and their own actions. 

  

To the second group, I have much more empathy and understanding.  My frustration with “politics as usual” and the unrelenting protection of the status-quo in Washington is genuine. I believe that the two party system creates an environment where we are too often forced to accept the lesser of two evils.  I believe that the influence of money in politics, combined with an inexplicable lack of term limits for legislators creates a breeding ground for corruption.  I believe that political maneuvering has, and continues to, erode away at the bedrock of the representative Democracy that we speak so passionately about.  Through years of gerrymandering, voter suppression, and due to the over-sized influence of special interest groups and lobbyists, my vote continues to lose value relative to some.

 

A number of years ago, I was part of a group of rebellious citizens who cast a vote for a former wrestler and movie star to “shake things up” a bit.  Whether or not I would vote the same way again, I’m not sure.  What I do know is that Governor Ventura was not up to the job, as he proved far too weak to navigate the ugly world of politics.  He was unable to accept criticism, far too unwilling to compromise, and generally unable to follow through on most of his ideas.  Had he run for a second term, he would not have gotten my vote again.  In any case, I am not immune to the temptation to cast a “protest vote” as recently occurred in the United Kingdom.  I am also not reckless enough to put our security and respect in the world and global economy at risk to prove a point. 

If you are interested in my thoughts on how valid a Trump vs. Ventura comparison is, go here.

If you are still tempted to give up on our Democracy in this election, I ask you to consider a different course of action.  Use your vote at the local and state level to elect people who will truly fight to restore the legitimacy of our representation.  Pledge your support to those who actually support the ideals that our founders laid out in the Constitution.  Pay attention to those who fight for more people to vote, rather than fewer.  Support those who truly want to eliminate the influence of money in politics by requiring publically funded elections, overturn Citizens United, and limit the outsized influence of special interest groups and super PACs.  Listen to politicians who have the courage to enact term limits so that politics become an honorable duty, rather than a profitable career.  Support legitimate 3^rd party candidates who are more in line with your actual beliefs, rather than one of two highly funded special interest groups who are only accountable to a select few insiders. 

Whatever you do, please don’t cast your vote for a careless, joke of a human being whose only motivation is to promote himself and his selfish interests, at the expense of everything else, including our national security.

Protest Candidates

The rise of Donald Trump’s candidacy often prompts comparisons to another “outsider” candidate, former Governor Jesse Ventura.  As a longtime resident of the state of Minnesota, who elected Ventura to office, I feel the need to clarify a few things.  First of all, I definitely understand the desire to make this comparison.  Both built their campaigns on an anti-establishment, straight talking platform, and both were famous in TV and movies long before running for public office.  It is also notable that both Trump and Ventura took positions that didn’t fit particularly well in either of the established party platforms.  Each of them has a reputation for saying things that aren’t necessarily politically correct, and their comments often got them in trouble.  If you are willing to look deeper, and revisit history a bit however, that is where the similarities end. 

First of all, it is important to note that Ventura actually won the election as a third party candidate (Reform Party), defeating both the Republican and Democratic nominees. Trump, on the other hand, is going to be, albeit reluctantly, the GOP nominee. In addition, Ventura, while not a seasoned politician by any means, was not a complete newcomer to politics.  Prior to running for Governor, Ventura was the mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota from 1991-1995.  Ventura’s views, even at the time, were fairly reasonable and consistent, in stark contrast to Trump’s positions, which range from inconsistent, to incomprehensible, and in many cases, unconscionable.  Looking at Ventura’s views in today’s political environment, they seems almost refreshing.

Ventura described himself as fiscally conservative, and socially liberal.  He also like to say that he’s a “libertarian” (with a small “l”).  By simply analyzing his beliefs and political statements over the years, one site (www.ontheissues.org) pegged him as a “Progressive Libertarian,” which I imagine he’d be fine with.  A sampling of his positions, both political and private, are as follows:

•   Doesn’t agree with abortion, but supports the ultimate right of the woman to choose.
• Doesn’t support gay marriage, but supports full legal rights regardless of sexual preference.
• Does not support increased surveillance and invasion of privacy, even to fight “terrorism.”
• Supports a simplified tax system, reducing overall taxes and attempting to balance out the tax burden across a larger tax base.
• Favors taxes based on consumption of services, rather than income level or property values, including implementation of a national sales tax to replace income tax.
•   Supports funding public education out of the general fund, rather than by local property taxes.
• Does not support the absolute right of gun ownership.
• Strongly in favor of separating church and state, including in public schools.
• Believes in campaign finance reform, reducing roadblocks to voting, and is skeptical of the military and prison industrial complex.
• Is against mandatory sentencing, “three strikes and you’re out” and criminalizing addiction.
• In favor of legalizing and regulating marijuana, similar to alcohol and tobacco. 
• Supports free trade agreements
• Moderately isolationist and in favor of downsizing the military
• Believes in climate science, is in favor of expanding green energy, and he made mass-transit (light rail) a priority for Minnesota while in office.

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Another similarity between Ventura and Trump seems to be their willingness to support and to give credibility to conspiracy theories.  I’m not sure what to make of that, other than to note that Ventura’s love of conspiracy seems to be a fairly recent development, coming out after he decided not to seek re-election as Governor.  This is one major reason why so many people (myself included) who were drawn to his candidacy in 1998, would have problems supporting him today.  In 1998, he was the grassroots candidate of the people who gave us a viable option that fell somewhere in between the two mainstream options. His views made sense to pro-choice, small government crusaders who happened to have LGBT friends.  He provided a viable candidate for those responsible gun owning, recreational pot smokers who wanted to send their kids to a quality public school without having to buy a $500,000 house in the suburbs.  I certainly didn’t (and don’t) agree with all of his views, but he represented a common sense and practical view of the role of government in our society.  His policies were generally well thought out and consistent with a man that grew up in Minneapolis, and built his own success in this country.  He believed that our government had a role to play, yet we all needed to take an active role in our own success. 

Donald Trump does a very good job of getting noticed, and that was his primary motivation for jumping into this race.  He saw, much like Ventura, that people were getting fed-up with politics as usual, and saw a window of opportunity to appeal to those who felt left out.  The miscalculation that both the GOP and Democratic parties made, was regarding the scale of those voters who had lost their voice.  Trump not only grabbed hold of the white supremacist vote, the anti-immigrant vote, and the far-Christian right vote, but he also appeals to another growing category of voters.  This last group, much like the young people that handed the Governorship to Jesse, are those so fed up with the our government doing nothing, that they are willing to blow this “thing” up rather than put faith in politicians to fix politics. 

A candidate like Bernie Sanders also grabs a large group of the disenfranchised voters, but his message tends to appeal to those that believe there is still a path to success through politics, rather than in-spite of politics.  We need more than two options, and we need to change the system, not just rotate candidates in and out of government.  We need to reduce the role of money in politics, and we won’t get that done with candidates who are funded by millionaires and billionaires.   I fear that there are enough Sanders supporters who are so fed up with government that they’d rather “burn it down” with Trump rather than maintain the status-quo with Hillary.  

Only time will tell…

What I think I think...

We all know the kid in high school that always got picked on and pushed around. There are a few in every school, in every town in America. Maybe he/she was a little different, a little awkward, or just didn’t quite “fit in”. We all have a different story. That kid might have been you, your sister or brother, your neighbor or your friend. Or, that kid might have been a stranger to you, someone that you never really got a chance to know on a personal level.

Then there are the people who had power over this kid, those whose power was displayed by making him feel inferior. We all know who they are as well. Once again, this could have been you or me, your brother, sister, friend or acquaintance. The vast majority of people don’t qualify as either the tormented or the tormentor, but most are at minimum complicit in the abuse. Most of us have, at times, seen someone treated poorly, have felt bad for that person, but didn’t intervene to help.

 My personal story is pretty similar to the above generalization. I never considered myself part of the “popular” crowd, but I managed to generally avoid being considered “unpopular,” at least in most circles. I played sports, sang in choir, and did well in school. I was involved in activities, had enough friends, and never really craved the acceptance of the social elite. Still, there were times when I was bullied or mistreated by one group or another, and while the perpetrators were very few, many more stood by and did nothing to stop them.

 One night, in the fall of my senior year, I found myself at a party with a diverse group of friends, classmates and casual acquaintances. Also at the party were a few of the guys who, for whatever reason, liked to give me a hard time. By this point, I was perfectly able to stand up for myself, and the expected harassment wasn’t overly bothersome. This particular night, however, something amazing happened. A casual acquaintance of mine, and a good friend of these guys, stepped off the sidelines, and actively stood up for me. I’ll always remember that moment for a couple reasons. First, I will always respect this act of kindness and bravery, and to this day hold this person in very high regard. Second, I’ll never forget the look of shock on the faces of my tormentors, when their friend told them, and I’m paraphrasing, to “knock it off.” They were literally speechless, and they basically never bothered me again.

 For the last several years, and over the last few days in particular, I’ve struggled to make sense of how people are treated in this country. There are large segments of our society that are marginalized and made to feel inferior and forgotten. The powerful few among us exploit their advantages to make themselves more powerful. Most of us, just like in high-school, are left somewhere in the middle, as spectators to watch this all unfold. As we watch, but fail to act, we are complicit in the many injustices that we witness, some of us more than others. What I realized that night back in high school was that people will continue inappropriate behaviors as long as it is acceptable within their social circle. All it took was one comment from a respected peer to put a stop to years of damaging actions.

 Throughout American history, it has been the same story. Slavery was accepted as a practice for white land owners long after people started to struggle with the morality of owning another human being. Segregation and Jim Crow laws were prevalent long after African Americans began to express their displeasure. I imagine that many white Americans disagreed with these practices, but chose not to act. How long did women have to request the right to vote before progress was finally made? For how long did the fight for LGBT rights go on before real measurable progress was realized?

 The truth is, oppressors don’t simply change their behavior because the oppressed complain about their treatment. Real change only takes place once one’s society no longer considers that behavior acceptable. In order for that to happen, members of that society must speak out against the behavior of their own peers, making formerly acceptable views and behaviors unacceptable. It took two white Presidents (Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson) to abolish slavery and provide legal protections to African Americans. It took members of the straight community to demand equal treatment for their LGBT friends and family to prevail in that struggle. And it took one of the “cool kids” standing up to his peers to get them to stop bothering me in high school.

 Many people criticize President Obama for not doing more during his eight years in office to improve the lives of African Americans. Many people believed that having a black President would naturally make things better for people of color. The truth is, the minds and hearts of people who are comfortable in believing that the color of their skin makes them superior are not going to be changed by a black President. The responsibility for fighting inequality and institutional racism in our country lies with those who benefit from it, not those who suffer because of it.

 If we want to combat injustice and institutional racism on the police force, police officers, specifically white police officers, will have to create an environment where racism is not acceptable or tolerated. In order to combat racism in the justice system, white district attorneys and judges must be a model for fairness and equality. In order to change gun laws, gun owners must speak out for commonsense gun reforms. In order to recognize that #BlackLivesMatter, white people need to pick up a sign and march alongside our brothers and sisters to demand action and reforms. As long as we continue to sit on the sidelines while others are oppressed, the oppressors will continue to take comfort in the belief that their actions are justified, and nothing will change.

  The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. – Martin Luther King, Jr.