Many of us love a good political debate. Most sit back and watch, perhaps chiming in for our preferred perspective. Others like to go to battle against our political foes with prepared retorts and practiced talking points to counter whatever the opposition has for us. But as we get closer to November, it’s important for Trump supporters to keep our wits and be civil. With so many on the left going unhinged and opting for hatred instead of reason, it behooves us to remember that we have the truth on our side.
The #WalkAway movement has been gaining steam for months. Following the Mueller report and Robert Mueller’s embarrassing testimony before Congress, an unknown number of Democrats and left-leaning Independents started asking questions. It may be in the tens of thousands. It’s likely in the hundreds of thousands. There’s even a pretty good chance it’s in the millions. Whatever the actual count is, there are plenty of people who are currently rethinking their allegiance to the Democratic Party. We must be civil and demonstrate that the reports of Trump supporters being racist hillbillies are completely false.
An article on Medium has been receiving plenty of buzz over the last few days. As a 10-minute read, it didn’t prompt me to immediately scour the long post but I relented last night and dove in. I’m glad I did. It was nothing short of wonderful with layers upon layers of internal conflict describing two decades of believing in Democrats melting away once the truth was known.
The author, Dr. Karlyn Borysenko, gave her personal account of the events that took her from knitting over anti-Trump chatter to attending the President’s rally in New Hampshire this week. She laid bare her vulnerabilities, fears, and biases that seemed to all be swept away by the reality that the Trump supporters surrounding her at the rally gave no reason for her to borrow a friend’s pepper spray. They were kind, often disagreed with aspects of President Trump, and had fun at the rally as if they were attending a concert.
After Attending a Trump Rally, I Now Know Democrats Have No Shot in 2020
I think those of us on the left need to take a long look in the mirror and have an honest conversation about what’s going on.
If you had told me three years ago that I would ever attend a Donald Trump rally, I would have laughed and assured you that was never going to happen. Heck, if you had told me I would do it three months ago, I probably would have done the same thing. So, how did I find myself among 11,000-plus Trump supporters in Manchester, New Hampshire? Believe it or not, it all started with knitting.
Her reasoning for registering as an Independent after 20-years as a Democrat wasn’t necessarily an individual policy of President Trump’s or a fear of the socialistic proposals many of the other candidates have. It came down to a realization based on experience that Trump Derangement Syndrome really exists. The prejudices many Democrats feel regarding President Trump and his supporters are not aligned with reality. When she told people at the Trump rally that she was a Democrat, she wasn’t sneered at or rebuked with scorn. Instead, they told her, “Good for you! Welcome!”
When people get loud and obnoxious about their argument, it’s often because their argument is wrong. Invoking negative emotions is natural when one’s beliefs contradict reality. We should strive to welcome #WalkAway folks with open arms.
