While I may have mentioned that I am working part time now, I don't believe I have provided any details about the work. I am employed at a small chain grocery store, stocking shelves with the thrice weekly deliveries of grocery products. I work with a reasonable diversity of people in terms of age and gender. And, perhaps unlike some work environments, we did discuss politics during the run up to the November election.
So, it came as a surprise when one of the young men I work with admitted to me a few weeks ago that he had voted for Trump. I say surprised because in our discussions last year, he did not express any particular attraction to Trump, and considering that he is a college student struggling to pay tuition while living on his own, perhaps due to my experience with my children and their friends, I had assumed he was leaning towards Harris.
The good news is that he was willing to admit to me that he regretted his vote, partly, I hope, because he knew I would not lose it over his admission, but also because I gathered that he couldn't discuss his sense of remorse with all that many people.
One of the reasons for his unhappiness with his vote and the direction of the new administration, was purely selfish. He had been interviewed for a post office job late last year, a job which would provide a substantial raise, and was told that he would be hired in the near future. At this point, given the fact that the USPS is laying off thousands of employees, he is far from sure that it will still occur.
Many people complain that their vote doesn't matter, or that no matter who is elected, it won't effect their lives. Yet for my work friend, he knew for a fact that his choice in November might lead directly to the loss of this job.
There were other things that have transpired in these first few months that he didn't like, so his regret wasn't just for personal reasons.
When I asked him why he voted for Trump, I framed it as a request to know why he didn't vote for Harris, as, from my perspective, I think it important for democrats to understand the reasons why it wasn't obvious to other voters that Harris was the better option.
His answer was multi-leveled. He didn't know enough about Harris, which I accept as a legitimate answer. He wasn't happy with inflation which he blamed on Biden's policies, and then connected to Harris. Again understandable, if not the full truth of why inflation occurred.
But then he alluded to the fact that so many of his friends, male friends, were excited about Trump. He knew that some of Trump's bravado and pseudo-macho attraction was superficial, but was reluctant to not be "that guy" who went against the grain and voted for Harris.
This was what surprised me, in that he was tacitly admitting that it was peer pressure that led to his ultimate voting decision, even though he wasn't fully on board with his friend's attraction to Trump's rhetoric.
What is really ironic, is that this was his first presidential election. His first foray into advanced citizenship, and he was already disappointed with the choices as he was not thrilled with either option. And additionally, he seemed genuinely upset both with the choice he ultimately did make, and the state of America due to that choice.
And that is what bothers me the most, that he is already skeptical about our current version of democracy, after only one experience. Skeptical that democracy is working as it should, skeptical that both parties seem focused on what is good for them, not what is good for the country.
Even more than that, while I accept my sense of hopelessness, or I should say lack of optimism for our country's near term future, I have a hard time accepting such gloom by a young adult with the vast majority of his life to come.
Perhaps that is the silver lining to my friend's pessimistic outlook. Perhaps he will do more research when 2028 rolls around. Or communicate a contrary perspective to those friends who leaned so heavily in Trump's favor.
Do I think my friend is one of the far too many millions of Americans who are labelled low information voters, regardless of party preference? Not necessarily. But I do think that had he done a little more research, listened more carefully when Trump attacked the federal work force, and expressed his love for tariffs, he may have voted differently. And if we assume that there are tens of thousands of other Americans who fell victim to nonchalance when it comes to civic duty, or just plain lies and falsehoods, maybe the election of 2024 will be a catalyst for a more informed voter.
Why, Joe, are you expressing a sense of optimism?
Well, maybe guarded hopefulness.
As I sit here, after the last few days of a bloodbath in the stock markets, there has been a slight rebound. Did we hit the bottom already? Was that the step back before two big steps forward? Will my friend reconsider his regret if the post office calls him next week, or if he attains a different job to help him finance his young life, school tuition, etc?
I'll let you know.
In the meantime, maybe the best lesson I can take from my friend's revelation is that perhaps I should have communicated more reasons why I was voting for Harris, as opposed to reasons not to vote for Trump. Was that our biggest fault, that democrats in general did not give the low information or independent voter more valid and compelling reasons to vote for Harris? We certainly had a list as long as one's arm of reasons not to vote for Trump, but maybe all that talk was just chalked up to political rhetoric and partisan party politics.
Certainly, those members of the Cult of Trump were never going to be swayed to desert their leader. But perhaps a better approach to those center right and center left people who voted Biden in 2020, or those who were voting for the first time, may have helped Harris, and other down ballot democrats, win the day.
Should there be a midterm election, and I am far from positive of that eventuality, it may be enough to take back the House by just pointing out how awful the current administration is performing. But a dose of positive messaging from the dems should also be employed to sway those voters like my friend who were on the fence in 2024 but ultimately chose the GOP candidates.
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