Good piece. It is a reminder to me that there are serious/thoughtful voters out there, probably a lot more than we think. They may not spend as much time reading and writing our opinions and outrage as those of us here might and probably get their political information soley from MSM and conversations with people and sources they trust. …
Good piece. It is a reminder to me that there are serious/thoughtful voters out there, probably a lot more than we think. They may not spend as much time reading and writing our opinions and outrage as those of us here might and probably get their political information soley from MSM and conversations with people and sources they trust. They don't fit a binary or category in some polling. Probably don't fit some demographic or party choice either. They have wants, experiences, values, and issues that are deeply held and digest news for how those needs are addressed by institutions, local government, schools, churches, and the promises of aspiring candidates and, hopefully, results from all of the above. They vote in their own image, with their family or clan needs carried into the booth and, perhaps, some mix of hope, fear, anger, and a perspective about how government should serve them. Some may be deeply reflective and well versed, some shallower and more naive, and some just going with most recent flow or opinion or facts or breaking news stories. They inconveniently, for our political prognostications, don't fit some predictable behavioral class. They're doing the work of democracy, the best way they can, despite how confusing all this happens to be. Perhaps, we shouldn't underestimate the cultural intelligence of the American electorate.
Good piece. It is a reminder to me that there are serious/thoughtful voters out there, probably a lot more than we think. They may not spend as much time reading and writing our opinions and outrage as those of us here might and probably get their political information soley from MSM and conversations with people and sources they trust. They don't fit a binary or category in some polling. Probably don't fit some demographic or party choice either. They have wants, experiences, values, and issues that are deeply held and digest news for how those needs are addressed by institutions, local government, schools, churches, and the promises of aspiring candidates and, hopefully, results from all of the above. They vote in their own image, with their family or clan needs carried into the booth and, perhaps, some mix of hope, fear, anger, and a perspective about how government should serve them. Some may be deeply reflective and well versed, some shallower and more naive, and some just going with most recent flow or opinion or facts or breaking news stories. They inconveniently, for our political prognostications, don't fit some predictable behavioral class. They're doing the work of democracy, the best way they can, despite how confusing all this happens to be. Perhaps, we shouldn't underestimate the cultural intelligence of the American electorate.