Last week I wrote about why we need to have a longer attention span when consuming content online. But the enraged responses to my Threads post illustrates another problem in our culture: We are completely unable to engage in a civilized way with people who disagree with us. It is F this, F that, MF the other thing, F you, and so forth. It is not only childish, but shows serious fractures in our culture.
As I have said before, I did not vote for President Trump in 2016 or 2024. I do not regret or apologize for that. I did vote for President Trump in 2020. I am not nearly naïve enough to think radical Leftists (or truly deranged "Never Trump" conservatives) will ever forgive me for that. And even if I had voted for Senator Clinton, President Biden and Vice President Harris, I would still be hated because I am a conservative and I have agreed with some of President Trump's policy agenda, such as tax cuts and deregulation.
The fact that people do not just hate President Trump, but hold hatred, bitterness and resentment for 77 million people ought to worry us about the future of our nation. These are people you live, work and shop next to. Even if you attend a more theologically liberal church, you might have some of them in worship with you. (In fact, I know you do.) Are you really incapable of interacting with them in a civil way? Do you really dismiss them as evil people because of your hatred for President Trump?
We need to be clear: The hatred many radical Leftists have for people who dare disagree with them existed well before President Trump came down that escalator and would exist had President Trump remained the Clinton-supporting Democrat he was when he donated thousands of dollars to her Presidential campaign in 2007, after donating thousands to other Democrats, including Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emanuel, Joe Biden and Harry Reid.
The hatred of the White working class is especially intense, and that was simmering under the surface prior to 2016. I was personally attacked many times by Democrats locally for 15 years before MAGA ever existed, because of my White working class background. Some of them hated me not because of my policy positions or what I said in the public square, but because I am a hick from a little hick town that has no business speaking to my "superiors" in anything other than a submissive manner.
You can argue that "it's just social media." But let's get one thing straight: Social media is real life. That might seem like a strange thing to say, but you are a real person venting in a public forum against real people. The people reading your stuff might well know you in real life. While bots exist, you are also interacting with real people online. Do you legitimately believe they are all of the terrible things you accuse them of being - things you would never say face-to-face?
The idea that 77 million people support the most depraved things imaginable because they voted differently than you did in a Presidential election is absurd. Keep in mind that President Trump's vote total increased significantly from election to election. He won 62.9 million votes in 2016 and 74.2 million votes in 2020. If we are going to avoid fracturing as a nation, we need to learn to be able to disagree with someone politically without hating them. The fabric of the nation is fraying, and we are all responsible for it. We all need to do better.
The deranged hatred of President Trump and his supporters
The fact that people hold hatred, bitterness and resentment for 77 million Trump voters ought to worry us about the future of our nation.
