There has been a lot of talk about finding ways to “build bridges,” to span the political divides that are tearing the country apart. More power to them. But I am afraid that without some basic principles those efforts aren’t going to get very far. The other night something sad happened. Christen Amanpour on PBS explained that she was no longer giving Trump supporters an opportunity to share their point of view on her show because discussions descended into “chaos.” Ultimately, if people want to build bridges they have to value discourse. And it’s clear Donald Trump, and most of his supporters, don’t.
I am not discounting every person who supports Donald Trump. There are many people who support this man for a variety of reasons who are not autocratic. But when the chips are down, they are supporting putting a man into the office of president who is probably the greatest threat to American democracy since Reconstruction. A man who has aligned himself with and incited insurrectionists; who has defied the Justice Department and perverted the truth to make himself out to be the victim. At a certain point, supporting this individual is socially irresponsible. Any citizen has a responsibility to speak out against such a person regardless of party affiliation where you land on the progressive to conservative spectrum. Is speaking out against Trump just good citizenship? I would fervently argue in the affirmative.
That doesn’t in any way mean that progressives, and perhaps more importantly true conservatives who see the alt-right for what it is, should not reach out. It is of paramount importance to understand how and why a man like Trump has gotten so much of a hold on the American electorate. We need desperately to understand the other point of view. We need to be patient and understanding. Any opportunity for someone to articulate what they believe and why they believe it above and beyond slogans is an opportunity that needs to be taken. There are reasons for the phenomenon of Trump, and it is imperative that we discover what those reasons are and how root causes can be addressed. But we should do so with a word of caution. Under no circumstances would I ever turn down an opportunity to have reasoned debate. Any chance I can get to have a Trump supporter hear my point of view must be taken. And if I can get that person into a space where they present their ideas in a well-reasoned format, I am all for listening.
But debate has no purpose when it descends into self-righteous ranting. Rhetoric cannot cure vitriol. To sit and listen as discourse degenerates into chaos serves no purpose. So, it is good to hope to create spaces where we can understand our differences through thought, reason, and listening. But it is also important to remember that supporting Trump is fundamentally wrong. And that building bridges with his supporters will come about only because of a shared value for discourse.
Progressive Without Apology 