This is a lot. To begin with, there is not such thing as "unbiased facts," only facts. It would become clearer and more manageable once you can separate a fact from an opinion.
4
I appreciate Ms. Smarsh, but there is much generalizing of her own both in the original essay and here. And I also hear resentment and a bit of the old chip on the shoulder.
Another of our "blind spots"is that we(u.s.a.)have become an empire and we don't even know that.Becoming an empire is destined to harm our own country, as history so deftly points out.This is such a blind spot here in the U.S., that even our author, Ms. Smarsh, doesn't touch on it.
Some "hints" that we are now an empire.
#1 We own Alaska, sitting next to Russia(With war hawk Sarah Palin usually looking for trouble).
#2 We own Hawaii, 3600 miles away and in control of the Pacific(Also a reason for the attack from Japan(WW2)
#3 We have 700 military bases in 130 countries to protect our "empire". Many of these are in the Asia-Pacific area.
China has created a few tiny islands in the Pacific and near their own coastline while the U.S."empire" is having a fit about this.(The sign of an empire saying "We can but you can't)
This empire is costing U.S. 502 billion dollars per year for overseas military activity.(RE U.S. Dept. of Defense).
This, while we are losing over 20 trillion dollars this year-and growing.
We have become an empire, destined to failure and of all things, We haven't even found that out!
Yet, another blind spot hiding the truth about America.
16
"This dissonance between my story and a large portion of the reaction (Me: Not everyone in “Trump Country” is for Trump. Them: Then why are they all for Trump!) proves the point of my piece — that the dominant narrative about much of our country is not just inaccurate but willfully blind."
So Sarah...you for MISSING THE POINT. I live in Trump Country. My town voted 2 to 1 for Trump. Obviously, 30% or so of us did not vote for Trump...we voted for Hillary. I'm going to stick my neck out about a millimeter and guess that everyone calling red states Trump country realizes they all have significant minorities who voted for Hillary.
I'm going to stick my neck out another millimeter and guess that most people know that there are plenty of non voters. Just as Hillary pointed out, not everyone who voted for Trump should be described as deplorable...but that is getting more and more difficult to defend.
As for feeling "forgotten" because the national media doesn't talk about us "rural folk"...seriously? And here I thought if the media isn't talking about us, it's a good thing. Are there problems here? Of course. There are problems everywhere. I would hope that our local politicians are aware of local problems. They are, after all, the people with the power to do something about local issues. Why are people anywhere expecting the national media to be versed in and talking about local problems?
I don't want to hear about local problems from the national media. That's not their job.
6
Now that the word 'elite' has been successfully imbued with negative connotations - why don't we take a cold hard look at the word 'Christian'. For far too long we've treated the hypocritical money changers in the temple with kid gloves because they were 'christian'. Baloney. They'll destroy everything for the glitter of gold and the gospel of prosperity.
20
if education is the answer to solving many of the problems raised then the republicans have done an excellent job of limiting the kind of educational experiences that would help create a more generous and humane society. republicans are counting on white power to remain in power and they take every opportunity to dumb down the citizens over which they hold sway.
10
Sarah Smarsh quotes her father, “If you get past everything you’ve been told and really read up on it, ‘socialism’ doesn’t sound all that bad.”
I guess that depends on what you read and what you have been told.
If all you read is socialist propaganda, and if you can get past the awkward fact that socialism fails, catastrophically, 100% of the time then, yeah, socialism "doesn't sound all that bad."
3
Viewing the U.S, from Europe, I am always struck by the propensity of Americans to tar and feather one another with broad-brush generalizations, whatever the subject at hand. This is nowhere more apparent that than in the comments posted about articles in the New York Times. Cannibalism seem to be the order of the day.
8
Before the liberals all gaslighted and fall on their swords, let us recall the leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell and remember the level of contempt displayed.
“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president.”
4
We spend a month driving around 9 states in your US Deep South last year.
What scared me was seeing some of those home town boys - in dusty overalls, steel blue eyed - aryan Germanic appearance - of white supremacist appearance - looking hard at us (my East Asian partner) like 'yore not from around these parts are yer' (shudder) – I was checking for pitchforks !
small town small mind resentfulness - closed community - I was told they must declare hatred of welfare as otherwise they would not get the occasional odd job work in their small community - even if they do secretly receive welfare - mustn't say that - or you could be run out of town - scary stuff.
Trump appeals to the resentful - 'other people get more than me and it's not fair !' - and lazy thinkers 'yes I'll have that handy prejudice please - that describes me as a hero and every problem is someone else's fault - yay !'
10
The inherent problems of blind spots are compounded by our eagerness to dismiss those who point them out. I'm told that many Independents feel alienated when people with good intentions nonetheless behave in ways that seem hypocritical.
We who actually believe tolerance is a virtue still often undermine ourselves by behaving intolerantly.
We espouse plurality and democracy but are still tempted to chill or stifle speech we disagree with.
We want to hold the moral high ground, so we must resist the human impulse to condescend below it.
It's not easy.
8
In the early 1990s my cousin (who I had not seen in several years) visited from Seattle. I then lived in a tiny village in NY state. She was suddenly inspired by her "buddy Rush" and her "buddy Sean" and had listened to both of them as she drove across the state.
From that time on she made it a point to constantly refer to libby libby libby.
Somehow I think this says it all. It's easy to push the politics of why should I. And it applies to literally everyone in one way or the other. Anger is always simple. And tiresome.
3
In the original article the author’s father is really angry about the UK’s royal family and the great healthcare they must get, the implication being that the royal family is undeserving of good healthcare after all of the money spent on a recent royal wedding. You would think that his anger should be about why the UK has universal healthcare, significantly longer life expectancy than Americans and why the USA is falling further behind each year and can spend more money on the Trump inaugeral parties than any royal event. It is hard to understand why the author thinks that the media can redirect that type of misdirected rage. If you want better healthcare vote in the mid-terms don’t worry about the royal family and their privilege - that was resolved over 200 years ago, you can help solve your issue in November 2018.
15
Rather than not knowing or working with someone of another race, I think the bigger problem is not knowing someone who lives in poverty, particularly someone who has the misfortune to be born to a teen mother who is a high school dropout. A mentee of ours (former gang member), now a middle school principal, said that when teaching at a school with many such kids, parents night was a non-event. Lucky to have two parents show up. At a mini-reunion of former PTO presidents of my kids' high school, one woman was shocked at hearing this. She assumed that those nights were standing room only as in our high school. I could not believe she was that naive. Our mentee learned from us and we learned from him. We had books on the stubborn child for our older daughter, books on understanding poverty for him.
5
The second largest socialist entity in the world after the PRC is the American military industrial complex. This is never mentioned.
18
@nilootero the truth. And it ain't that miserable, really. If the people only knew...
1
@nilootero. I used to live in that community, I couldn't wait to get out. Substandard medical care if you're overseas, thank God we have health insurance here at last (although it's not 'free'). Waiting lists for housing of up to 3 years, which is about the time you leave. Hope the surrounding community has affordable housing, if not, oh well. Jobs for spouses? Yeah, right. Have a 30 kids waiting list for a class and the parents would like to add another one, nope. You'd better hope we don't institute that kind of socialism here, I can guarantee you will not be happy.
1
Politically engaged people apparently have the ability to read minds: you say something and then they tell you what you “really” mean.
5
There's a reason this article is in the NYT but not Fox, WSJ, etc. It's because they'd run you out of town and liberals won't.
13
The author is too smug and dismissive regarding 'elites', reducing it to elite national media, but that is a giant cop-out. Those in the heartland who sneer at coastal elites and elite national media exclude the equally elite Fox and other Murdoch media and conservative talk radio and true elites such as the Koch brothers. If Ms. Smarsh were honest, she would admit that 'elite' is just another pejorative meaning any liberal in any sort of position of power and excludes conservatives in the same position. I
Basically, anyone in the same position as their own elites in their own communities: red counties and states, religious groups, and media. They don't get a pass, because they are supposedly without power and discriminated against. They exercise great power within their states, using that power to discriminate. The politicians they support control all 3 branches of the federal government and use that power to discriminate against and even disenfranchise others. Try to obtain a legal abortion or even contraception in many areas they control. Try to live as a black or brown man or woman there. See who really holds the power and who really is a victim. They mourn the loss of a part of their white, Christian privilege. They don't want equality, they want to dominate with government promoting their religion and values.
It's astonishing, we had 8 years of GWB and after a couple years of Obama, Texas thought it should be able to secede. These aren't victims.
28
allentown--No, they are perpetrators.
5
In response to that woman who immediately went into attack mode when it comes to anyone who is not supporting Trump no matter what; I offer one simple and precise description of such individuals...BRAINWASHED!
17
Clinton got more than half of her votes from "red" states. 33 million Americans in those states rejected her opponent. That includes almost 3.9 million voters in Texas, where he got only 52% of the votes, and Georgia, where he barely cleared 50%, and Arizona, Utah, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida - all states where he got less than a majority of votes.
Whenever I'm ready to condemn Texas for being a hopeless case full of ignorant voters, I stop and think - whoa! Almost 4 million Texans voted just like I did?
You can't just write off those 33 million fellow Americans as a lost cause. You wouldn't know it from the media saturation about a divided country, but when you get right down to the nuts and bolts of living in America, we're about much more than politics, and there's much more that unites us than divides us.
20
@William LeGro
Spot on! And not only that, but what about all the other people in those states who would've voted for Clinton but because of disgust, disengagement or just plain laziness, decided to stay home.
William LeGro--Yeh, but...there are 28 million people living in Texas. Texas looks like a lost cause. I'll give my final determination, after the election, particularly if lyin' Ted Cruz gets sent home, to peddle his ugly ideas to his neighbors, who may actually vote for Beto.
3
@William LeGro We get so many new people arriving every day from all over the country and the world, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a 'typical' Texan. Except everyone is really friendly!
I will never forget my first contact with the smug expression "virtue signalling."
It was from a white male "progressive" journalist responding to my tweeting at him.
If only white males, followed by white females, would start listening more instead of offering 'pinions, the country would improve substantially.
3
I am glad to see an article that makes Trumpists scream when they're correctly identified as operating out of racist rage at their fantasy of being wiped out by Them, and I am equally glad to see somebody give the smugger leftists what for in regard to their sneering at working and at rural folks.
I have no hope of reaching Trumpists--they're going to be a long time excreting all the Koolaid they've glugged--but I do think it would be nice if lefties would a) realize that working people and rural folks are spozed to be some of those who leftists are fighting for, and b) it's well past time to stop looking for alibis for their contributions to divisiveness on their own side, and their refusal to get off their duff and go vote.
9
socialism
noun
any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
Do you receive benefits payments under Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid?
Do you use public streets?
Did you attend public schools or a state university?
Do you send your kids to public school or a state university?
Do you use the interstate highway system?
Do you ever call 911 to get help from first responders (police, fire, emts)?
Do you ever use a public playground, a public park, or a national park?
Do you ever go to a public beach?
Do you ever use a public hospital?
Do you use public water or sewer systems?
Do you ever use the post office?
Do you ever use a public airport?
Do you have your garbage collected by your city or town?
Then you are a SOCIALIST, and if you think socialism is terrible you better stop using all of those things IMMEDIATELY.
49
Joe From Boston--Very well expressed! Thanks from a fellow Bostonian.
3
"Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the sick, welcome the stranger, visit the prisoner," are words that Jesus spoke. Sounds, at least to me, like Socialism.
24
@Nightwood I'm not a Christian and would rather live in a country of laws. If as a Christian you feel you need to do this, there are plenty of places for you to lend a hand. The government should not be one of them.
1
Ms. Smarsh deserves a standing ovation for her point about elite pundits and the role they've played in vilifying people with financial hardships. The term "working class" was once as apolitical as any other class strata; comprised of every race, found in every part of the country. Now it's shorthand for a grotesque caricature embodying all the ills of our society (as defined by the left).
That's a rare and entirely factual critique of liberal classism in the current era. Your takeaway should not be indignation over the notion that highly visible, affluent, liberal members of the media are "elite." If that seems like the most baseless and troubling generalization in the paragraph, it's time to interrogate your own biases.
Another prime example of liberal elitism? The ever-growing reverence the left has for bachelor's degrees. A college degree shouldn't be the minimum requirement for a fairly compensated job in this country. How do we solve waning economic stability in fields where degrees aren't relevant? Oh, simple! We'll just make it easier for everyone to get a degree! That's not a solution; that's a evasive maneuver.
7
@Januarium, please let me offer some counterpoints:
1. It is not clear from your comments who is vilifying people with financial hardships? Remember back to 2008 when the banks gambled on real estate, churned the market to earn higher fees, etc. Was it not the Republicans and Fox News who said the common man who lost his shirt was responsible for the debacle?
2. Who specifically among liberals are reverent for bachelor's degrees? Many highly educated folks of both liberal and conservative persuasion know that there are already too many citizens with worthless undergraduate degrees. What is important is that young people get a real education--either formal or on-the-job. What frustrates me is US citizens who know little about anything, have too few job skills, and possess little motivation to work hard. The days of dropping out of school in the 10th grade and finding a union job with great benefits is long past.
Lastly, is it possible to evaluate our problems in the US without filtering everything through a liberal-conservative lens and trying to blame the other side? There is more than enough blame to go around. Right now we have Republicans controlling all three branches of government and who do everything in their power to stir up animosity between different groups of US citizens. The main winners, IMHO, are the economic elites and corporations.
4
Labels are the beginning of the "isms" we desperately need to evolve beyond, including racism, sexism, agism, etc. Our personal moral responsibility is to not be lazy and categorize people by anything about them except, to quote MLK Jr., the content of their character. We need to respect ideas regardless of where they came from - something I notice people in my own "tribe" having an increasingly hard time doing, sadly. Like successfully practicing democracy, escaping "isms" requires ongoing vigilance and dedication; I've extremely disappointed in people who don't get "unlazy" and group people. That said, it is foolish for anybody identifying themselves as "socialist" to be expecting to win any national elections in the US, including the otherwise thoughtful and valuable Sen Sanders.
3
@cljuniper It's unfortunate that many people in this country see the label, "socialist," and run the other way, instead of actually understanding the definition and reading about it, like the author's father did.
3
I now will read your book. Thank you.
1
To build democracy today we most need these two:
1. citizens who Want to Develop Skills for reaching the Truth far more often than we have reached it today
2. Cut the income gap to one third what it is currently
4
Media are very often responsible for assigning the labels then using them over and over until ingrained in the culture - particularly the pop culture. PR agents may have done the initial "labelling" but media popularize them. Labels make for click-bait headlines, clicks make for advertising dollars. So much for responsible journalism.
"Pro-life and "pro-choice" are two labels that have resulted in immense harm to the cause of reducing abortions without harming women. .
1
OK, here are my generalizations - people who voted for Donald Trump because they believed he had solutions for working class Americans were taken in by a fraud and a bully, people who rewarded those who voted against the ACA but who believe that healthcare should be affordable don't fully understand that Republicans want to ration healthcare by income class and are only interested in making healthcare affordable for healthy people, people who get their news from Fox opinion shows are being fed propaganda and are grossly misinformed, and people who listen to elite multi-millionaires like Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity or Donald Trump and find them relatable because they use crude language or "tell it like it is" are buying into stereotypes about liberals or socialism and are happy to eschew nuance.
The problem is not well read NY Times readers or MSM journalists not understanding "Trump country" - and btw, there are plenty of Trump supporters on the coasts, the problem is people who think education doesn't matter, who are suspicious of people with broader horizons than themselves, people who may be familiar with poor people who game the system, but don't live in close proximity to wealthy white collar criminals or tax cheats who game the system to the tune of billions of dollars.
How many of the struggling working class people Smarsh defends will read her book? How many book tours will she do in those communities?
43
"How many book tours will she do in those communities?"
It's a little tough if they don't have bookstores. The NYT or somewhere had a graphic on the ratio of bookstores to gun shops. It explains a lot about the Trump vote.
I'm hoping the soybean debacle will move some farmers to vote in their economic interest, or at least sit out the fall elections. Only problem is, there are so few of them nowadays.
3
2018 America is largely the destructive byproduct of the right-wing Republican Big Lie.
The fact is that an overwhelming majority of Americans support Social Security, Medicare, a large federal military, public infrastructure and public education - all very healthy forms of 'socialism' - but a sizable portion of those Americans have been co-opted by Republican Big Lies via Fox 'News' (a faux-patriotic entertainment channel and entertainer Sean Hannity) and hate radio that they refuse to admit they support socialism even though they do.
Cognitive dissonance is the great Republican weapon of political choice - along with massive vote rigging - to get seemingly normal Americans to vote destructively against their own interests while surfing the noxious fumes of political and socioeconomic spite.
The majority of Americans say they disliked the ACA before the Republicans try to repeal it under Trump; now the majority of Americans approve of it. Many Americans who say they dislike the ACA, but when you explain that it eliminates insurance companies' ability to reject coverage for pre-existing conditions, eliminates lifetime maximums and allows children to keep their kids covered until age 26, they all love it.
This schizophrenic cognitive dissonance is the careful work of the Goebbellian Orwellian Poppycock party that has been successfully organ-harvesting American brains for 1% profit for decades.
We have met the enemy...and they are Republican, faux-Christian, sociopaths.
93
Frankly, Ms. Smarsh should be placed in charge of the NY Times! America desperately needs an open-minded and unbiased news source, one that gives a platform to all viewpoints, and a means to mediate honest debate between them. While the Times does a fair job of presenting facts, it all too often slants them towards its own bias by the way articles are worded and where they appear, on the top front page, or buried towards the "back". Perhaps if the Times really lived up to its credo, "All the news that's fit to print." and included ALL the news, not just that which supports its editorial bias, it would find a greater audience, including those in "Trump Country".
Failing making Ms. Smarsh Editor-In-Chief, I hope the NYT at least gives her a prominent platform to give voice to her egalitarian sensibilities.
21
Judge what people do, not who they are.
We the People created the Constitution so that we could govern our Republic. We the People hire representatives Sworn to execute our interests. That is the government. (Not all politicians are faithful to that oath.)
We the People stated our interests in the preamble:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Article One gives power to congress. Not the President. In article II, the President is commanded to faithfully execute the law. The commander in Chief must be able to take swift action, but it is not based on his whims and private interests. That would be against the People's plain interests.
Congress is given the power to tax trade. The entire Republican mission is to counter that power. They would rather borrow and spend to enrich their friends and reward their buddies, while blaming Democrats for deficits.
In supporting Trump to get $5.5 trillion in tax cuts, 90% of the Republican party showed they don't care about honor (lying is the opposite of honor), logic, family, combat veterans, women, white supremacy, Nazis, our intelligence services, justice department, FBI, national defense, elections,..
They say Our Government is the enemy.
10
"The term “elite” is successfully leveraged by conservative propagandists seeking to cast coastal liberals as condescending snobs."
So funny, and telling, then that Trump was recently complaining about how the right wingers call liberals "elite" and whining that HE should be called "elite" because he is so rich. That one statement tells us all we need to know about both the overwhelming need he has to be noticed, and his utter incompetence at understanding how the right wingers have spend decades trying to brand "liberals" as "elite" only to have their Dear Leader claim that as his own description. Oh well, can't fix stupid!!
17
@Joe Rockbottom...O.K. Let's don't call them elites - that is so micro aggressive. Let's call them salt-of-the-earth instead. Let's throw out the coastal part, too. No sense aggressing the folks in Boulder, Madison and Austin. It still begs the question. Are liberals condescending snobs? Or, is condescending snob redundant?
2
Many people--including me--have been tarred with the label, "racist," because they think the numbers of immigrants should be reduced, and immigration laws should be enforced, opinions on policy which have nothing to do with racism. People on the left frequently assume that there is no reason, other than racism, for anyone to support reducing immigration. (I'm on the left--I voted for Sanders in the primary, Clinton in the general.)
There are good reasons to reduce immigration that have nothing to do with racism. Too much immigration of low/no-skilled workers has reduced the wages of similar classes of American workers, because the oversupply of cheap labor has enabled businesses to reduce wages.
Immigration has also been a fiscal drain, costing each American an estimated $100-$900 annually, according to the National Academy of Sciences.
Finally, when it comes to global warming, we're the major industrialized nation with the greatest per capita GH emissions. The average immigrant's greenhouse emissions rise fourfold after arrival here--not surprising since most immigrants come from developing nations.
The Southern Poverty Law Center has actually called certain groups that advocate reducing immigration "hate groups." SPLC knows better--they just hope that moniker will cause people not to take these groups seriously. But go to CIS.org, and see if you can find any signs of hate.
8
@David Holzman...Exploitation of vulnerable immigrants is a big driver of the pro-immigration movement. Wage differentials are not just exploited in the farm fields, construction site, resort hotels and nannies and gardeners. Silicone Valley, the Medical Industry and the higher education system all leverage the weak bargaining power of immigrants. Then you have states like California that receive large census bonuses from their outsized immigrant populations - especially non-documented immigrants. Like the exploiters of the antebellum South, modern exploiters justify their immoral intentions by attacking those who appeal to a higher authority. Hence, we are racist haters.
3
@David Holzman
This is one of the reasons I can't get with today's left or climate change crowd. The belief impoverished people in devoping nations should remain in poverty because it will save the planet. Dont let them in because your greed is all the plant can tolerate. They aren't the problem we are.
1
Great article! People like Sarah give me hope that not all is lost in America.
6
Elite Republicans, by abolishing the right to an abortion, want to force other people's children (teenagers) to have unwanted babies - one million each year in the United States, which babies could hardly be supported by the teenagers.
10
NYT, thanks for doing a second round on the piece by Sarah Smarsh. She got the opportunity
to respond to those commenters who were too quick to be triggered by individual words in
her very thoughtful, original piece, who assumed they understood her points on a single
reading. Since the election, my reading radar has been set on High for writing like
Smarsh's that helps "us" (liberal/democrat/progressive/NYTimes readers) examine our own
triggers and reactions. Over and over I see commenters responding defensively to
criticisms of our political tribe, and defenses of the other tribe, without carefully
reading what these skillful writers are saying. Ultimately, to bring about change we can
only examine and change our own thinking, and then try to influence those who are stuck in
the same patterns. "Remove the log from your own eye first."
Our professional journalists and dedicated bloggers need to continue aggressively
questioning the Trump administration, current elected officials and candidates, and
laissez-faire economists. But to my fellow commenters: If an opinion piece published on
these pages makes you mad or defensive, first ask yourself "why" before writing yet
another obvious and boring comment along the lines of "this columnist forgot to blame
so-and-so or mention thus" or "how dare they accuse us of [being elite]" or "it's all
Trump's fault" ... "It's all the Republicans' fault" ... "Capitalism will be our downfall"
... "Trump voters are ignorant racists".
10
I don't judge people by who they are, but for what they do.
The Founding Fathers created the Constitution to define our Republic, based on the Declaration and negotiations. It was far from perfect but they had an Amendment Process that was able to improve it greatly through time and the will of the People.
We the People are the Government.
The preamble begins with We the People:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
Congress is to make laws that Tax and Regulate Trade, to accomplish those goals.
The Republican Party has been saying that our government, Our Republic, that We the People are "the Enemy" for 35 years.
And now 90% of the Republican Party supports a President who lies to us for fun and laughs at us while he does it, while blatantly using his office for private gain, who and stood on foreign soil taking the side of THE HEAD OF A HOSTILE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE who personally presented animation of nukes raining on Florida in Jan. against his own appointees in government.
I don't need Mueller to tell me Trump is a traitor. Trump convicts himself every day, while the GOP scrambles to distract from it by attacking our national defense apparatus!
And Democrats Compromise??!!!
7
Ms Smarsh does her cause no service in continuing her use of broad labels and giving a disingenuous excuse for her use of right-wing dog whistles. Republicans are just Republican, liberals are self-righteous. People in blue states are ignorant and arrogant for not understanding red-staters, but people in red states who tar blue states with whatever epithet they heard today on Fox are just good, honest people. And, as a professional writer, doesn’t she possess a large enough vocabulary to substitute another word for “elite”?
As for people on the blue coasts not understanding flyover country, apparently she is oblivious to the fact that many people living on the coasts were born and raised in the middle of the country, understand it all too well, and moved out to get better educations, better jobs and more satisfying lives. The blue coasts also receive more media attention because that is both where most Americans live and where most of the newsworthy events occur.
16
Great comment Renee! I'm currently on temporary assignment in central Michigan where many folk complain that the young and educated are leaving the state. It's not a surprise why: there's diminishing economic opportunity in much of the State.
3
In January, I moved to Columbia, SC. Adopted by a band of lovely 70-something liberal hippie women from the neighborhood. I've attended a host of protests and rallies with them, from gun reform to protesting the raising of the Confederate flag on statehouse grounds.
Here's what I've seen: A scant minority of hopeless, powerless feeling white men around these parts seem to have an insatiable need to feel superior to black people. (The Hispanic population is very small here, so they don't seem to be viewed as a threat).
Here's what I know: Many here who voted for Trump because they hated Obama's skin color, and are still incensed that he was the leader of the free world.
Trump makes these unhappy white southern men feel powerful again! Better than the non-whites! Superior!
Alas, it is hate filled smoke and mirrors. Trump is the conductor of the evil that divides us, and his cronies in Congress and his cabinet won't life a finger to stop the devastation he's causing.
Our country needs to find its way to colorblindness. We can't get there when the leader of our country is one of the biggest racists on the planet.
25
I don't judge people for who they are.
I judge people by what they do.
It is that simple. You are responsible for what you do.
I judge Trump supporters by what they do. They support a President of the United States that consistently acts against the letter and the spirit of the Constitution and Declaration of the USA, while waving flags and singing anthems.
The real blind spot in this country, is that there are citizens of the USA who don't actually want it to follow the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights gives humans actual protection from the government, despite constant attacks on the Bill of Rights from Republicans and many Democrats. The left battles for them. The right battles against.
Guilliani cried that busting in the door of a lawyer and taking their possessions of a lawyer (who calls himself a "fixer") was "Nazi" behavior. He just spent the last forty years demanding those powers against suspects who can't afford a lawyer, and deriding the Bill of Rights as"technicalities" while finding exceptions to them.
The Republicans are against the Bill of Rights (except 1).
But those that can afford private armies and who make a lot of money through illegal means are not necessarily loyal to the USA as a law enforcing entity and they are openly financing right wing terrorist organizations.
Trump gives liars and bullies permission to Be Worst. They Do It.
[By the way, if I call someone a "Centrist Democrat" I am talking about people who's actions fit that label.)
8
Stop with the gripes and complaints about America. If that is the Progressive platform, it is a loser. Let's face it, if you can't make it here, you can't make it anywhere.
5
'Labels always oversimplify, but at their worst they dehumanize: “illegals” or any racial epithet.'
"Illegal alien" does what it does: it correctly labels people. Its a legislatively mandated term. Its the correct term to use for such people. The use of political terms like "undocumented immigrant" is a term designed to oversimplify and dehumanize those would would be correct and support the law. It is, simply put, designed to demonioze people who support the law.
"Productive dialog" means we convince people like Ms. Smarsh to support our laws. We don't have to "assume" anything about illegal aliens ... they are criminals, period.
Ms. Smarsh ... you simply select words to help your politics in the face of electoral defeat. You loath democracy.
5
Thank you NYT for giving the writer an opportunity to address the many critical comments. And for Ms. Smarsh’s thoughtful responses. I found her original article to be extremely relevant to many “debates” we are engaged in. And not just in the United States. I was appalled by the many posters who seemed to have not actually made any effort to understand what she was saying in her original piece.
6
Today we suffer from a highly polarized and divisive political environment. Both sides use labels to ostracize their opponents and their supporters. Instead of reaching out to people who differ from yourself and offering compromise and/or civil debate, candidates, pundits, journalists, individuals turn to name calling and generalizations. In reality, it helps no one to label all undocumented immigrants or all straight white men as evil. People are acting out their anger and frustration instead of working on unity. This has given power to the extremes of the left and right.
2
Ms. Smarsh seems nice and sympathetic, and her Dad even more so. But she makes a particular mistake--eliding the difference between rhetoric and policy. This mistake is also characteristic of the New York Times, and I suspect it's why she's in these pages.
It's true that the rhetoric of some liberals is unfair to Red state residents, as in "they get what they deserve" for rejecting Medicaid expansion. But that expansion is a liberal policy. Conservative policy is to reject Medicaid expansion. Liberal policies transfer huge amounts of federal funds from blue to red states. Conservatism is, in effect, all about blocking those liberal policies intended to help red state residents disproportionately.
Ms. Smarsh suggests a false and misleading equivalency between the (very) few liberal "elites" who speak disparagingly of red state working class residents, and the policies supported and promoted by the mainstream liberal political establishment. In doing so, whether she intends it or not, she gives aid and comfort to the conservative political establishment in its efforts to block, demonize, or otherwise frustrate those policies.
8
If universal health care, free education and a government safety net that looks after the poor, elderly, disadvantaged, disabled or otherwise unable to look after themselves is socialism, then I'm a socialist. Ask Scandinavians, Singaporeans or Swiss if their systems are socialist and they would probably say yes since they see nothing pejorative in that word. It's only the worst kinds of conservative capitalists who have demonized it, equating socialism with communism.
20
"Q: Does your father seek news outlets different from that of other working class members of his community?"
I prefer Fox for it's "fair and balanced" presentation. I watch MSNBC, when my wife isn't around, for the "color". The MSNBC talkers basically have the same facts as Fox, but they emphasize the facts differently. I do enjoy watching some of them go ballistic when Trump says something, that used to be considered over the top. I subscribed to the NYT for the op-ed and the "not news" stuff. The crossword, health and travel.
The news industry might be better served if they cultivated a "minor league" in fly over country. They could bring these people up, from time to time, for a few weeks. The two extremes would be tempered by their input.
1
I'm with Andrew Cuomo: America was never that great. It's certainly not great, now and it's getting worse. The world will testify to that unfortunate fact. But, we voters can remedy that problem by electing ethical, honest, altruistic, patriotic, uncorrupted, law abiding officials, who will follow the Constitution, and rather than impeach, keep tRump locked up in his little office, unable to move, veto, break laws, violate the Constitution, or otherwise disgrace our country any further. Just hold him there, cut off his spending, take away his phone, reverse his illegal, destructive actions, and fire/investigate/ prosecute every one of his grifter minions, until the 2020 election. It'll be just like home detention, without the ankle bracelet. Following his only term in office, indict him, convict him, and haul him off to prison. "Lock him up!" Lock them all up!
8
"Q: To what extent do labels prevent productive dialogue?"
Rather 'rich' that. given it's been the Democrats and liberals who've embraced 'identity politics' in recent history...
3
@Cathy
Oh, you mean the label 'identity politics', that basically means standing up for the rights and equal treatment of oppressed groups, like LGBT Americans, black Americans and American women, to name a few?
What's 'rich' is that republicans like to use that label as an insult, when in fact it describes doing something that is the right thing to do.
3
Let me get this straight—it's a grave injustice when people treat "the white working class" as a single backwards monolith because a majority of that demographic voted for Trump, but it's more than understandable to disparage "elites" as a monolith with "an edge of anger" because, "well, try being on the losing end of a narrative every day of your life and see how patient it makes your language"?
If "elites" really meant the Harvey Weinsteins and the Koch Brothers of the world, I might *somewhat* buy your argument that, being in power, they can handle being stereotyped. But when the term is used as a cudgel to include anyone who's not a real-deal (white) American from the Heartland, how is that not falling into the same trap? When the policies voted into office by a majority of "the white working class" seek to pollute my environment, disenfranchise my gay friends, control the bodies of my female friends, deport my neighbors, and destroy my access to healthcare— how can you discount people's "edge of anger" toward the white working class?
19
elite seems to be anybody the person using the term as a smear thinks is better than he/she is.
as for socialism....americans should give that a rest.
finding out what socialism actually is might be a start.
those who use the term with a sneer would be shocked to discover that the horrors of socialism in democracies around the world mean--compared to the usa--longer life expectancies, lower infant mortality rates, better parental leave after childbirth, longer holidays, no capital punishment in virtually any other country, fewer per capita homicides, national health care plans at cheaper costs than the pathetic American system.....I could go on a lot longer, but my fingers would get too sore.
16
Most people do as they are told by the cult that has trained them. Social security, medicare, and medicaid are socialist programs that the GOP and corporations have been trying to destroy for years. There is no ideal free market as many self proclaimed capitalist claim there is. We have regulations. These regulations are socialist. There is no ideal capitalism, conservatism, liberalism of any other ism. We are a blend of all of these. To remain ignorant of this is to self identify as a serf who is lead by a nose ring by some overlord master who dictates their beliefs.
6
Perhaps the words of T T von Laue, in his Why Lenin? Why Stalin? serve us best:
"We exist and survive by making judgments. In the big issues that shape the fate of men and nations our judgments are based on simplifications and generalizations, on “images.” The present world of baffling complexities therefore demands the reduction of mazes which only experts can follow -- and even they imperfectly - to simple patterns comprehensible to ordinary men and women. All people, particularly in a democracy, deal with and judge these issues, one way or the other. The choice before us then is not of simplicity or complexity but of good or bad, penetrating or misleading simplification. Generalizations guide public opinion, public opinion influences and sometimes determines government policy, and government policy holds the fatal trigger of war and peace … .
Let our generalizations, therefore, be knowledgeable and just.
from the preface:
T. H. Von Laue: Why Lenin? Why Stalin? A Reappraisal of the Russian Revolution (J B Lippincott Co, 1971)
2
"The normal American of the 'pure-blooded' majority goes to rest every night with an uneasy feeling that there is a burglar under the bed, and he gets up every morning with a sickening fear that his underwear has been stolen. . . .
His political ideas are crude and shallow. He is almost wholly devoid of aesthetic feeling. The most elementary facts about the visible universe alarm him, and incite him to put them down. Educate him, make a professor of him, teach him how to express his soul, and he still remains palpably third-rate. He fears ideas almost more cravenly than he fears men."
—H.L. Mencken, "Americans," Baltimore Evening Sun, July 16, 1923
7
Thank you Ms. Smarsh. In many ways, this is the most hopeful piece that I have read for a long time. The world is not lost when the majority of people are good but we are living in borrowed times.
2
I have offered a similar statement to family members more conservative than I am. That is, if we fling labels at each other we can't really have a conversation. Some people have heard that, and we've had good talks, others dig in their heels. Unfortunately we are dealing with a rather large group of people in this country, and I refer to extreme-right religious people, which included a number Trump supporters, with whom no debate is possible. They have put on labels that they are comfortable with, they dismiss other people who don't agree with him with labels, and they support anyone who takes the same stance. I have really will meaning friends who keep thinking there should be a way to talk to these people. I would be glad if anyone could tell me what it is. It's hard to reach across the table to people who will bite your hand off when you do it.
5
The first comment in this piece exemplifies what I think is wrong with the religious right, or many others that think of themselves as Christians. The woman says "As a Christian and a capitalist, I have absolutely no interest in anything that socialist has to say." That's too bad.
Mary V., it might have been interesting to ask her what it means to be a Christian, then suggest that many of those things, taking care of the poor, helping those in need, treating others as you would have then treat you, living as Christ taught, are what socialists want society to be. Sure, there might be some policy things that one might disagree with, but in general people with socialist ideas would fit right alongside Christ. You could also remind her how Christ reacted to the capitalists of his day....
From where I sit, and have sat over many decades in this country, a great many Christians are in name only. Or, as I like to "label" them, they are Old Testament Christians.
12
So true.
As a resident of both coasts with roots in Ohio farm stock, I am convinced that the invention of the airliner and the resulting reduction of the rural and small town MidWest to 'flyover' status has been the death of the Republic. Too many important people have no contact, understanding or roots in the heartland that made America great. The financialization of the economy has added to the problem, and the frosting on the cake was the crash and bank bailout that ignored Main Street and swallowed the home equity of hard working people.
Today's government has yet to punish what Teddy Roosevelt called the 'malefactors of great wealth.' Instead, it has used a fraudulently obtained mandate to hand them further billions. Both parties are heavily to blame. The GOP sold out with Nixon, and the Democrats with Clintonian corruption and snobbery. Does anyone remember when a White House Chief of Staff lost his job over a fur coat? That happened in my lifetime -- it would be unthinkable in today's environment. It is no wonder people are fed up.
5
I love the discussion of the word "elite"
To my eye, Trump is eager to create his own "elite": people who think and act like he does. His efforts to bully and remove any opposition and lies about the way he acquired his wealth, along with buddying up to the world's autocarts, are examples of the way he wishes to destroy or at least silence his "enemies".
Stalin had a way with elitism too! Here's Krushchev getting himself in trouble by denouncing him: "Joseph Stalin, his despotic and bloody-minded predecessor, referred to “everyone who didn’t agree with him as an ‘enemy of the people.’ ”https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/trump-and-the-enemies-of-th...
10
It appears that our country is getting larger and disjointed into smaller, self-identifying segments. That the terms i.e., elite and working class or black or white or gay are too generalized. The pigeon holing must stop. The spectrum of people and what they represent is much greater than ever. I'd also like to comment that as a whole I think we all get along a lot better than we are portrayed to be. Keeping us separated and at each other's throats is an age old, feudalistic tactic. So we don't stop fighting and look up at the real problem of economic imbalance and those controlling the nation's narrative. Meaning the 1-10% who have well over 90% of the money/power. This is the main reason of most of our country's problems.
9
Unfortunately, I believe it would be safe to say that the vast majority of Americans in the co-called "Heartland" of America have never traveled outside of their own state let alone the country, hence, Republicans can use their usual "divide and conquer" approach and bag of labels such as the apparent "evil" that is "socialism" to further enhance their regular barrage of fear tactics that America might turn into another Venezuela. Lack of education about the world around them makes the brainwashing considerably easier.
In July, we had the pleasure of a visitation for a week from a young couple from Oklahoma(relatives on my wife's side)whom, until then, had never traveled north of Colorado, hence, when they saw the growth, vibrancy and entrepreneurial spirit of the community, they were aghast.
Once we explained that Canada, like many others in Europe and other advanced western industrialized nations could be described as a "democratic socialist" countries, yet have an extremely strong capitalistic nature about them(you can have both), they fully understood.
If anyone in the heartland is willing to listen and understand the reality of the world around them, describing democratic socialism is really quite simple. Other than providing universal healthcare, less costly education, a better minimum wage and a few other social safety net programs, the only difference between my country, the others and America is that we have agreed that the 1% does not have to "get it all".
63
We are to the point where caring for our fellow citizen has been weaponized by those who tell us we will loose everything if we take care of the mentally ill or educate everyone, or ensure health care for all. I remember how hard it was, many years ago, to be independent when I had so little money. It was hard to see my way clearly when I felt threatened with destitution. I made poor choices based on those fears, and today people make even worse choices. Guns and rampant drug use are today’s fall backs. Then, I just chose safer jobs than I should have and didn’t chase enough dreams. Today seems rather dreamless and self destruction for many is a viable option.
14
In my experience, the "truth about America" is that it is a remarkably apolitical place despite what the media tries to show.
Maybe this is surprising but in a place where most people don't vote, maybe it shouldn't be surprising at all.
If it weren't for comments to articles, I'd almost never hear a political opinion out of anyone that wasn't some media pundit.
People go to work, they earn money, they pay bills, they sit in traffic, they get sick, they try to do something fun once in a while, they and their kids get old before they know it.
I imagine that's because most people adhere to the old rule to not discuss religion and politics.
Sometimes I think that America's apolitical nature might be its saving grace. If everyone were constantly as up in arms about things as commentators and talking heads are, I feel like we'd have near constant civil disorder.
Instead people put their head down, glance at the news now and then, and go back to living.
10
@LR Most of us live inside of our own political bubble. Most of the people we are surrounded by on a day to day basis tend to agree with our political views. It’s really the pundits, columnists, and politicians of the world that sow dissent using divisive labels for their own political gain.
2
@LR Unfortunately, that's how we ended up with Donald Trump in the White House and a Republican Party that resembles fringe extremist parties in other democratic countries.
Paying attention is a civic duty as the citizen of a democracy otherwise democracy doesn't thrive, it dies.
7
"Productive dialogue requires that we set aside our assumptions about other people and places and refuse to reduce them to labels..."
Be more concerned with electoral success than productive dialogue. Smearing via label has been a favorite tactic of the GOP for 30 years, and look at the current makeup of our government to see if it has worked.
16
This piece was a breath of fresh air. My late father and her dad would have gotten on well together-white guys of modest means and an overall conservative outlook who also recognize injustice for what it is. The commentary on elitism is interesting. I am the first in my family to go to college. I have also been a single mother and took any job I could to survive. I became a PA and am now an MD. I read books. I eat organic food when possible. I’m a proud liberal. Am I an elitist? I don’t much care.
27
Thanks, Ms. Pollyanna. Tell this to the GOP. I’m really tired of being lectured to by well meaning people about compassion and patience. In case you haven’t noticed, this is a decades long WAR, for permanent control AND destruction of our Government.
And the GOP is winning. Seriously.
77
Ms. Smarsh's original article and this conversation in response are the kinds of exchanges of points of view that I would love to see more of. Thoughtful people asking questions and listening to thoughtful responses is so rare these days. Thanks, NYT.
As someone who worked hard for 50 years for what I considered progress in equality and justice in America, I react in fury to what is currently happening in this administration. I work hard not to project this anger and frustration onto those who didn't care enough to vote or those who voted ignoring what else would result. It helps to be reminded of the complexity of people's lives and the many things that we have in common. I try to remember that the vast majority of people are doing the best they can in the life they have, just as I am.
37
@Mlc
Actually the question is: Will you stand by when our political institutions are infected by and manipulated by the Russian government?
A vote for a "Republican" turned out to have been a vote for Putin.
3
In response to your words on calling things what they really are:
Just a thought here on the term "religious liberty,", which seems to be in the news lately. I think that I already have "religious liberty", since no one interferes with me when I worship God. I can go to church and Bible Study and Prayer Meeting. I can talk about God and Jesus anywhere I go. I can pray in the open. I can do all of these things without anyone stopping me and indeed, without the fear of anyone stopping me.
Some other people seem to think that they don't have "religious liberty", since they want to refuse to provide certain services to certain people, but feel threatened or inhibited from doing so.
Let's recognize that while we may both call our practices (or desired practices) "religious liberty", that in reality our practices are pretty different. What I want is "freedom to worship." What some others seem to want is more like "freedom to discriminate."
84
Thought-provoking and humane discourse. Thanks to all for a dialogue that gets beyond labels and speaks to real people. If more of us were interested in information rather than affirmation our society would benefit.
18
Mary V. is excited about a candidate because of her sex, but her friend rejects the candidate because of her views. Ocasio-Cortez is indeed a socialist. I think the friend is more sensible. Candidates should not be judged more on their stands on the issues than their demographics.
7
And that is why I voted for her. Americans need Medicare for All and free college education— benefits enjoyed by every other first world nation.
39
From the description of the encounter, it sounded more like Mary V's friend rejected Ms. Ocasio-Cortez out of hand because of a caricature she had seen of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez's views.
Maybe the friend had looked into Ms. Ocasio-Cortez to find out what she supports and believes. But if that were the case, I don't think the friend would have gone all "off with its head" on what had been a friendly conversation like she did.
The friend's reaction sounds a lot more like that of someone who's been told what she thinks she wants to believe. Outlets like Fox News are more than happy to do this, and are masterful in executing it.
12
@Beliavsky
Socialism. A red herring if there ever is one.
No one is threatening to nationalize anything.
13
Stereotypes are cognitive shortcuts. They help us cope with the infinite complexity of the world. It is literally impossible to approach everyone you meet purely as an individual without factoring in some general knowledge about various groups this person belongs to. These shortcuts can also become blinkers when they are not informed or deliberately misleading. However, when a person chooses a label to affix to herself, she is responsible for all the historical baggage this label carries. It is disingenuous to ask others to pretend not to know what they know. The label “socialist” carries a terrible history of violence, failure, ruined lives and ruined economies. So is the author asking me to approach self-declared “socialists” like Bernie as if I did not know the history of socialism? Nobody forced him or Ms. Cortez to call themselves socialists rather than social democrats. Since they have, they have to take responsibility for the stereotypes they invoke.
5
I agree. They are not socialists in the political or economic definition. I see them more as believers in the regulated capitalism of Europe. I’ve spent a lot of time in Europe & see a lot of entrepreneurial spirit. In many ways it’s easier to start a small business when you do not have to worry about healthcare or your children’s education.
53
@Mor As a European, I can tell you that the Social Democrats have sold out too and have become social just in words but neolibrals in action. That’s why these parties are losing so much support lately..just look at the ever shrinking SPD in Germany. The label Socialist is appropriate as it should define a movement in the US that does not fall into the same traps as the social democracies of Europe.
I Germany btw there is a call now for a new movement of the left that sees the SPD as a representative of corporate interests instead of working people.
I now call myself a socialist. Americans need Medicare for All, free college tuition, and a guaranteed job.
6
Note that virtually every "weaponized" term has been deployed successfully by the right-wing against Progressives/Democrats: liberal, elite, socialist/socialism, feminist, etc.
Meanwhile the term "conservative," with its connotations of solid, practical, trustworthiness, family values, etc. is still used by most, including the NYT, to describe many who should more accurately described as right-wing extremists such as the Kochs, Trump, Kobach, Moore, and others.
It's easy to see who has been much more successful at this particular battle, and we can only wonder why it's been so one-sided.
98
@Pat Media is only as liberal as its corporate owners allow. ( Someone else said that first.) Personally, though, I have a negative reaction when I see terms like: conservative, Republican, family values, and pro-life. It conjures up associations to "controlling, intrusive, fiscal recklessness, hypocrisy, etc." On the other hand I have positive feelings towards labels such as liberal, socialist/socialism (LIBRARIES, police, firefighters, education for all!) , feminist, pro-choice, universal healthcare, the common good, environmental protection. I could go on, but basically, I think we need to defuse what others try to make into weapons.
9
@Nelson "Sweden The Middle Way" by
Marquis W. Childs, 1936, is an interesting read. Sweden has had its problems, but it
learns from them, adjusts, and moves forward.
1
@Pat
Yes, the entire right-wing take-over of the government has been based on their ability to control the debate and the language of the debate with made up words and phrases, while the Democratic Party makes itself a prisoner to these lies and the media acts as if they are completely duped by the whole thing..
The Democrats keep saying, we can't do anything for the working people of America "in today's political climate." Have you ever once heard a Republican say we can't get tax cuts in today's political climate? Of course not. It makes you look impotent, instead of like you are fighting for people.
Lesser evil is a promise to be a wet rag.
Politics is the Art of making things Possible. Trump is making horrible things that were impossible two years ago possible, every day.
You make things possible by controlling the conversation and defining the terms of the debate. Republicans constantly use a willing media to broadcast lies, while Democrats surrender in advance, responding to their agenda using their language.
By deluding themselves that by supporting policy for the rich they could beat the party of the rich, by taking the bankrupt hypothesis of Supply Side Economics as their underlying assumptions, instead of actively opposing them, they have alienated their own base, the 60% of the people that work for an living, plus their families.
Hillary told left, No We Can't, while Trump was singing "Who can make the Sun Rise, Sprinkle it with dew..."
Stop surrendering.
3