In America, Is It Too Late for Kumbaya?
Wednesday, April 26th, 2017
By Reed Galen
Earlier this month I wrote a column positing that America had become the home to two civilizations — diametrically opposed, disconnected, disassociated and disdainful of one another. Mostly rural and exurban voters in the middle of the country rose up in a great red tide and propelled Donald J. Trump to the presidency. They have seen their jobs, quality of life and future prospects dim in the wake of, among other things, massive technological shifts and the 2009 financial crisis. The more urban and coastal well-to-do voted for Hillary in droves, but all live too close together for her to capture the Electoral College, which is what being elected president requires.
There were many responses to the column (thanks to those who took time to read and comment) that, qualitatively echo my initial sentiments. Not surprisingly, if a reader lives in Park Slope (my blue analog) they thought I was too hard on the left and too forgiving of the right. Conversely, if a respondent claimed Red Turf, they took issue with my soft-selling of the left’s arrogance. Many on both sides, however, rejected outright the idea that as a country, we must begin to bridge the gap between America’s two primary colors.
Neither side is willing to wave the white flag of truce from their trenches; preferring to metaphorically machine gun anyone who might attempt to cross the no-man’s-land that is today’s American political landscape.
Speaking of Trump voters, one Blue response reads, “It’s essential to recognize, as a starting point, that Trump voters — however sympathetic and understandable their motivation — did a bad thing.” Hard to find a more difficult starting point for a thoughtful discussion.
A Red reader replied: “…from the comments, I think it’s clear that a lot of your readership isn’t interested in closing any “gaps” unless “Marietta” surrenders unconditionally to “Park Slope” in terms of ideology is concerned.”
Another expressed this perspective: “…You play down how deep and wide the chasm has become between Left and Right. The divide is irreconcilable. We are witnessing our disintegration as one society.”
Where are we going? Since the end of World War I, a four-lane, one-way superhighway has emptied the countryside in favor of cities. Today, only about 15% of Americans live in what’s considered a rural area. Given their relatively small numbers, it was not just the old white Iowa men featured in many recent explorations of “Trump’s America” that elected him. Many suburban and exurban voters went with Trump. Many urban voters who should have been a lock for Hillary stayed home.
Now, as Joel Kotkin lays out brilliantly in his latest column, Generation X voters are already leaving the cities for the greenbelts and the beltways. Millenials, especially those entering their 30s may not be far behind. Given the size of the Millenial cohort compared to that of GenX, their out-migration from major urban centers could have a dramatic effect on voting patterns in years to come. Will red states like Texas and Utah become more purple, or will their shade of red simply take on a lighter hue? Will the cities, increasingly polarized in their own right, demand even more purity from their state and national candidates, further alienating them from the working class voters that, even despite President Trump’s dubious first 100 days, still support him in droves?
We may find ourselves walking a middle path more quickly than we assume. If it is true that our demographics — age, ideology and party identity, are becoming increasingly mixed up in very red and blue states, perhaps that will open the door for more centrist, independent candidates to build coalitions from the middle 35% or so that want nothing to do with either established political party. This is not to say a third party is in the offing — America’s political duopoly for all its continued failings, is still structurally in charge of a vast amount of this country’s day-to-day operations from City Hall to the halls of Congress.
What about those folks in Redtown and Blueborough who are unwilling or unable to recognize that in politics, purity leads to division, not progress. If we invite them to the national campfire, will they come? If we ask them to sing Kumbaya, will they join in, or will they kick dirt in the fire and stomp off into the woods? If they’re going to refuse to participate in the constructive and productive parts of a participatory Republic, what’s next? Do we look not to convince or convert them to a change of degrees in their thinking but instead go out and find the tens of millions of Americans who declined to vote in 2016 and implore them that now is their time to be heard?
Will the silent plurality listen? Will they talk? If they do, what will they tell us? Hard to say, but times of upheaval and unrest are prime for political realignment and perhaps reawakening. Not being “woke” whatever that is supposed to mean, but a more baseline understanding of the responsibility we as Americans have to participate, not when we’re happy, but when we’re most fed up. That is the time to get out and march, or make phone calls or stand for office. Let’s turn our turbulent political waters into the hydropower needed for an American political renaissance.
Copyright 2017. Jedburghs, LLC.
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