I voted for Harris and am trying to make sense of what happened. Here is what I've taken away, so far: It's the economy, stupid. I do think the Biden administration did a good job with the...
I voted for Harris and am trying to make sense of what happened. Here is what I've taken away, so far:
It's the economy, stupid. I do think the Biden administration did a good job with the economic mess that they inherited. However, the rampant inflation put the Dems in the hole right from the start. When given a choice between abstract ideals like preserving democracy, reproductive freedom, and foreign policy or practical considerations like feeding your family and putting a roof over over your head. The practical wins every single time.
I am privileged and live in a bubble. While I don't like paying 3x the price for eggs from what I paid 2 years ago, I can absorb it much better than a lot of people. I also work with and have friends who are like-minded and similarly privileged people. This means that I was blind to just how much the economy was a factor. I consider myself a compassionate and empathic person, but my privilege makes it really easy to focus on the high level ideals and not the day-to-day realities. I got so caught up at the high level that I took for granted the struggles of people less fortunate than me.
The mainstream news outlets are in it for the money. Period. They definitely aren't in it for democracy or to have fair, unbiased opinions. As much as people in my circles like to deride Fox News for being too conservative, news outlets like CNN are just as bad. They both know their audiences. Both sides want your clicks and attention and will emphasize articles and use inflammatory rhetoric to get it. Not realizing this soon enough gave me a badly distorted view of the voting electorate.
The values of the country at large do not align with mine. The United States is not what I thought it was. It is not a bastion of democracy and justice - it is just a country, filled with people just trying to survive. There are no grand ideals to be found here. I thought we were making social progress, but the population is far more religious and conservative than I realized, and the trend is accelerating. This makes me feel alienated from the larger American society. That feeling of isolation makes me really cynical and hopeless about the future. Eventually, I will need to come to peace with never fitting in. I've always been able to fit in, more or less, so this will be new to me.
These might seem obvious to some, and I'm not sure if this will help anyone. However, writing it down helped to make sense of, what is to me, an extremely short-sighted and selfish outcome.
I voted for Harris and am trying to make sense of what happened. Here is what I've taken away, so far:
It's the economy, stupid. I do think the Biden administration did a good job with the economic mess that they inherited. However, the rampant inflation put the Dems in the hole right from the start. When given a choice between abstract ideals like preserving democracy, reproductive freedom, and foreign policy or practical considerations like feeding your family and putting a roof over over your head. The practical wins every single time.
I am privileged and live in a bubble. While I don't like paying 3x the price for eggs from what I paid 2 years ago, I can absorb it much better than a lot of people. I also work with and have friends who are like-minded and similarly privileged people. This means that I was blind to just how much the economy was a factor. I consider myself a compassionate and empathic person, but my privilege makes it really easy to focus on the high level ideals and not the day-to-day realities. I got so caught up at the high level that I took for granted the struggles of people less fortunate than me.
The mainstream news outlets are in it for the money. Period. They definitely aren't in it for democracy or to have fair, unbiased opinions. As much as people in my circles like to deride Fox News for being too conservative, news outlets like CNN are just as bad. They both know their audiences. Both sides want your clicks and attention and will emphasize articles and use inflammatory rhetoric to get it. Not realizing this soon enough gave me a badly distorted view of the voting electorate.
The values of the country at large do not align with mine. The United States is not what I thought it was. It is not a bastion of democracy and justice - it is just a country, filled with people just trying to survive. There are no grand ideals to be found here. I thought we were making social progress, but the population is far more religious and conservative than I realized, and the trend is accelerating. This makes me feel alienated from the larger American society. That feeling of isolation makes me really cynical and hopeless about the future. Eventually, I will need to come to peace with never fitting in. I've always been able to fit in, more or less, so this will be new to me.
These might seem obvious to some, and I'm not sure if this will help anyone. However, writing it down helped to make sense of, what is to me, an extremely short-sighted and selfish outcome.