What About the Losers?

Today is election day. As with every election, voters insist that this is the most important election of our lifetimes. But this time is really different. I agree that this time is different. Not because the country will implode if one candidate wins and the other loses. I’m not sure this is true. Rather, I agree that this time is different because an inordinate number of people believe the country will implode if one candidate wins and the other loses.

I’m not here to tell people that their fears are unfounded. Quite the contrary, actually. I want to use this post as an opportunity to discuss the importance of supporting our political adversaries and meeting them with compassion should their preferred candidate lose today. I know that the news cycle has convinced many that their political adversaries are the devil reincarnate, but this is simply untrue. They are people with thoughts, fears, hopes, aspirations, and inherent value as human beings.

I have family members who hope Donald Trump will win the election. “I’m so sorry, Connor. It’s so unfortunate that you have to put up with racist, sexist, homophobic bigots. How do you put up with that?” Simple answer: I don’t. Not because I have cut off my Trump supporting family members, but because they aren’t racist, sexist, homophobic bigots. They are decent, hardworking people who care a lot about the state of the economy and the fate of the American working class. They are immigrants who believe a Trump presidency is the best chance we have at toppling a dystopian theocratic regime in their home country of Iran. They have complicated lives that demand they devote many of their financial resources to people who are dependent on them, and cannot fathom being taxed more than they are under a Biden presidency.

If I am giving you the impression that I support Trump, please do not misunderstand me. I do not support Trump. But I have made it a priority to hear the concerns that motivate my family members to support Trump. And there is simply no way I can bring myself to believe that they are the racist, sexist, homophobic bigots that so many insist they are. I do believe they are sorely mistaken on many matters of policy. And it is clear to me that they give certain issues more priority than others for what seem to be arbitrary reasons. But they are not terrible people.

I have many friends and colleagues who hope Joe Biden will win the election. “I’m so sorry, Connor. It’s so unfortunate that you’re surrounded by liberals with low IQs who want to make America a socialist hellhole. How do you put up with it?” Simple answer: I don’t. Not because I avoid talking politics with my differently-minded friends, but because they are intelligent, thoughtful, and want the best for this country. They see what Trump has done to political discourse and our culture, and fear that another 4 years with him will erode the fabric of American society. They fear that people who are already marginalized and at a disadvantage can only be seen as equals under a Biden presidency. They see the way Trump treats families at the border and demand humanity. They see climate change as an imminent threat that can only be dealt with using, as a starting point, the sorts of policies proposed by Biden.

If I am giving you the impression that I support Biden, please do not misunderstand me. I do not support Biden. But I have spoken to my friends, listened to them intently, and read as much as I could to understand why it is that they do. These are some of the smartest people I have the pleasure of knowing. And I respect them immensely, no matter how strongly I disagree with them that Biden is clearly the lesser of two evils. (Again, this is not to say that I believe Trump is the lesser of two evils. I just do not think it is obvious which of the two is, especially given that I know so little about what sorts of policies do the most good and because I have so little confidence that either of these trainwrecks will follow through on any of the good things they say they will do).

What threads the Trump supporters and Biden supporters I know together is the fact that they believe the country is doomed if their dispreferred presidential candidate wins. Trump supporters fear that a Biden win will turn our country into a communist hellscape. Biden supporters fear that a Trump win will turn our country into a hateful place where its most vulnerable citizens will have their interests completely neglected. I am personally of the mind that neither of these things will happen. I’m inclined to think that life will go on. There will be variation in how well we will be able to live life depending on how far the government intrudes in our lives. But on the whole, people will continue to work, innovate, laugh, cry, think, and feel. At least, this is what I hope will happen.

My beliefs and hopes, however, are not like those held by many of those who are dearest to me. My students fear that they will not be able to lead the lives they want to lead under a Trump presidency. They are scared. My family members believe that the America that they fled to when they no longer felt safe in their home country will crumble under a Biden presidency. They are scared. And I am trying to remind myself that, no matter who wins, there will not just be social unrest, and dissatisfaction, and immature exchanges… But genuine fear.

I know that the supporters of whoever wins will gloat without reserve. I can already see the Republicans “owning the libs” and the Democrats smugly “taking their country back” on every social media site. There will, no doubt, be snarky tweets directed at political pundits, ridiculing them for supporting either Team Trump or Team Biden. The winners will delight in the turmoil of the losers. I wish this wasn’t the case. We need to show one another compassion when our wounds are fresh because humans, unlike other animals, can put their tribalistic tendencies to the side for the moment and refuse to be ruled by their basest emotions. They can show compassion for those who have lost and treat others with dignity. We will need one another today more than ever.

Whoever wins today will make about 50% of the population––the winners––extremely happy. But what about the losers?About 50% of the population will be extremely sad and fearful. So do not rub salt in open wounds if your preferred candidate wins, because this election is different. It really is this time. And we have to welcome the results with humanity and compassion, no matter what they are.