It is simply a given of the environment
My father, the late Dr. O. Norman Shands, uttered those words as we discussed my struggle with the positions of some of the southern clergy in the 1950’s. We are a little more than a week removed from the presidential election. Dad’s words have been rattling around in my head as I think about the nature of the political divide in America.
It seems that we Americans have isolated ourselves intellectually, politically and socially into such separate “bodies of water” that we are not aware of the “water”. The result is that we project negative qualities and motives onto people in the other “ocean” as the rhetoric escalates. We are unwilling to give the tiniest amount of consideration to the views of the “other side”.
President-elect Trump took a lot of heat during the campaign for conducting rallies in deep blue areas. Many on both sides of the aisle considered it foolish and a waste of time. Yet, he outperformed his 2020 results in 49 of the 50 states. This may have contributed to his winning the popular vote. Is it possible that people heard a different viewpoint for the first time and gave it consideration?
I think back to my personal experience. I was raised in a staunchly Democrat household. Mom and Dad were both children of the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover, a Republican, was blamed for it, and FDR, a Democrat, is credited with pulling the country out of it. Additionally, Eleanor Roosevelt was committed to Civil Rights, as Dad was. Finally, the South was a solid block of Democrat voters. I remember the phrase, “country club Republicans” being uttered in our household. He was also a loyal CBS News viewer because Katie Couric’s father had been a classmate at Mercer University.
On March 18, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy spoke at Allen Fieldhouse at the University of Kansas. I was a freshman. I underestimated the fervor for his appearance and arrived near the time he was to begin speaking. I was fortunate to get in. The seating capacity is a little over 17,000, and I had to stand. I remember hearing that the Fire Marshall was unhappy. Here is a link to a picture of the crowd: https://exhibits.lib.ku.edu/items/show/7713
The speech was every bit as rousing and emotional as you would probably imagine. I was inspired. How could I not be? The Vietnam War was raging, and I was draft age with a student deferment. He called for an end to the bombing campaign and for negotiations with Viet Cong.
Shortly after, Republican presidential candidate Nelson Rockefeller also spoke at KU. It was of such little historical importance that I am unable to find the date. On the contrary, there are many search results for Robert Kennedy’s speech. I decided to attend to hear what Rockefeller had to say; not expecting much. Rockefeller’s speech seemed dry and unemotional. My memory, clouded by 56 years, is that there were about 6,000 people in attendance.
Rockefeller did make an impression on me, however. He systematically addressed issues and explained what steps he would take to resolve them. He further explained how he had taken that approach as Governor of New York: what had worked and why, and what had not worked and why. I was not convinced to become a Republican. However, I remember thinking “Hmmmm . . . “. I was impressed enough to mention to Dad that I had attended and had been mildly impressed.
Although I was 19 in 1968, I was not able to vote because the voting age was still 21. I remember watching the election results and was disappointed that Hubert Humphrey, the Democrat, had not won. When I was able to vote in 1972, I voted for George McGovern.
I was impressed with Gerald Ford in 1976. I campaigned for him in my county and paid very close attention to the campaign issues. I became aware that, in my opinion, Jimmy Carter changed his message daily to cater to whatever disaffected block of voters he was addressing that day. There did not seem to be any overarching principles to his campaign. I hold that same view of the Democrat party today. I have not voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since. I have voted for some Democrat candidates in down ballot elections and have inevitably regretted those decisions.
I began to immerse myself in any media that would give me access to the positions and talking heads of both parties. I can name more pundits and columnists of the other party than most people, I think. Reason and common sense have always prevailed over emotion, with me.
When Fox News and Rush Limbaugh came onto the scene, my reaction was “Finally. Someone expressing my point of view”. Most on the left talk about the impact those forces had on people: convincing them to become mean and hateful and playing up to their racist tendencies. Anyone who knows me should know that I do not exhibit those traits.
When Dad was facing hip surgery in his 90’s, he introduced me to his surgeon as my having been, at one time, a “Rockefeller Republican” but that I had gone over to the “dark side”. He once called me a “one issue voter” without explaining to me the issue to which he was referencing.
It hurt. It still hurts.
I make every effort to involve friends and family on the left in respectful debate. I try to refrain from incendiary rhetoric. I am willing to listen and ask questions. Invariably the other party will revert to “this is just how I feel” or some similar statement. Their very identity seems wrapped up in loyalty to a party. End of discussion. There is no way to debate that. Very often, the accusations of hatefulness and racism or some phobias are made.
Maybe if they had a Rockefeller moment and got out of their “water”, things would be different.