I was raised in a New Jersey household where my mother and father taught me to be a liberal Democrat, Franklin Roosevelt-style. In our family, we saw the government as a benign force in times of need – a reliable friend of the working class and the poor. Dad viewed Republicans with suspicion all his life: Notwithstanding Ronald Reagan’s broad popularity – Reagan carried New Jersey twice – my father strongly opposed Reagan.
I realized years later that Reagan’s brand of sunny conservatism was evocative of FDR (which wasn’t entirely coincidental as Reagan grew up in a pro-New Deal family, too) and that his concern about Big Government becoming too intrusive had some merit. My college friend and fraternity brother at Yale, President George W. Bush, felt the same way, although he tweaked Reaganism with a “compassionate conservatism” overlay.
I knew they were both good men with good hearts, even though I did not vote for either.
Now comes Bruce Springsteen, a fellow Jersey boy, who sings tunes he writes with lyrics he also pens, speaking to and about working people, reflecting his family values and roots – speaking about the choice facing America in the 2024 presidential election.
But then Springsteen added:
“Everybody sees things different and I respect your choice as a fellow citizen,” he added. “But like you, I’ve only got one vote. And it’s one of the most precious possessions that I have. And that’s why come Nov. 5, I’ll be casting it for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
For me, the key word is “respect.”
Bruce did something that should be common in American civic discourse but which is actually becoming rare: He expressed respect for voters who disagree with his endorsement of Harris-Walz and who support Donald Trump instead.
No matter who you prefer in 2024, I ask everyone to heed Bruce Springsteen’s call for mutual respect.
One more thing: I ask my fellow Democrats and progressives who support Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and strongly oppose Donald Trump to do the same thing: You can believe Trump is a menace and fear his own words threatening our Constitution and democracy. But you need to listen to – and try to understand the view of those voting for – the other ticket. Yes, you must respect Trump voters and their concerns. This doesn’t mean the extremists, cultists, and bigots on their side.
But that goes both ways. I am thinking of those on my side who mislabel themselves as “progressives” while peddling their own version of hatred and bigotry. These include Democrats who use the tragic deaths of innocent Palestinians as an excuse for hatred of Jews rather than words of civil disagreement, failing to distinguish valid concerns of PM Netanyahu’s policies vs. bigoted antisemitism.
We Democrats and we liberals need to learn the word respect, too, about non-bigoted and non-extremist Trump voters. We must learn how to disagree agreeably, listen better, and try to address the concerns of such Trump voters rather than demonizing all of them – that is, if we wish to win in 2024.
