Shared Values??

An Open Letter to my Trump Supporting Loved Ones

I learned in Braver Angels workshops (www.braverangels.org) that we often share values even with our political opposites. It takes conversations in which we express curiosity about another’s point of view for us to realize this. Here is my open letter to the Trump supporter in my life with whom a continued relationship is important.

Dear loved one, I have learned to assume that you will think the opposite of whatever I think about whatever is happening in our country or in the world. Is this as true as I feel like it is?

We just had two shootings on the same day in two different places in our country. One in Utah where a high profile conservative was killed but no idea for two days who did it. And within hours of that one, a high school student critically injured two other students before killing himself. I hate to say…this was a “typical” school shooting in this country. Practically no attention was given to the school shooting in the media. They're happening too frequently to receive that much notice. Although it shocked the country a little when the victims were elementary children in prayer at a start-of-school-year Catholic Mass. Still no talk of action regarding shootings in our country.

Minimal reaction to the killing of a MN representative and her husband assassinated by a registered Republican with a hit list of 45 Democrats. I see reminders pop up on social media just to keep her name alive and in people's minds. Say her name, Melissa Hortman.

But Charlie Kirk…the vitriol started immediately against “radical leftist political violence” (as Trump said) even though no one knew who the shooter was. It took two days and thousands of tips before they had him in custody, although my understanding is that his father or a family friend that the father talked to turned him in and in the end, Tyler Robinson appears to have turned himself in. Was he a radical leftist as so many on the right assumed? No! His family describe themselves as proudly MAGA. Tyler was radicalized by the far right, farther right than his own family. It appears he believed that Charlie Kirk was too moderate!

I had heard of Charlie Kirk, always in the context of how conservative he was, a supporter of Trump, and that he spoke with hate of different groups of people, eg. Muslims, Jews, Blacks, Democrats. After his death, there was an outpouring of what a great person he was, how loving, what a great Christian! It's hard to reconcile what these people are seeing when I read quotes from what he said on The Charlie Kirk Show. It's like the story of “The Blind Men and the Elephant”. One person sees a man full of love, while the next person sees a man full of hate. They can't both be right but the evidence will out. I know he loved to debate those who disagree with him. I have learned that this week.

So, as people on the opposite side of an ever widening fence in this country, I want to know how far apart WE really are. Could we, dear loved one, be straddling that wide fence while believing that we are actually far on opposite sides of it?

When you heard Trump threaten every Democrat in the country and blame them for what happened to Charlie Kirk, did you cringe at all or did you agree that Democrats are evil? Did you wonder how he could come out and alienate half the country when we didn't even know who the shooter was and what their motives were? Did you wish for a leader who could bring us together and try to solve the problem of shootings? No, not easy, but necessary!

This is so fundamental! Our country is at an inflection point.

When I look toward a future where Democrats/progressives/liberals are reviled by the government and moderate stances that are anywhere left of conservative are labeled as progressive or liberal as if those are swears, I wonder/worry about the future. Would you turn me in if the government started rounding up those who disagree with Trump/MAGA? So far those people are high profile. Would you defend me?

My values I’ve always held led me to where I am today. I believe in a basic social safety net, civil rights protections, regulation of business to avoid exploitation, investment in infrastructure, and respect for the rule of law. I also believe in 3 equal branches of government (checks and balances) and taking care of the planet. I am surprised to find that many people do not believe in all these things. I believe that we all take care of each other, while so many say “not my problem”, even while being willing to accept money from the government when they qualify for a program.

Where do you fall? Do we overlap somewhat?

I have always believed in the concepts I listed above. I think I just took many of them for granted until they were threatened. If I don't stand up for them now, I am not being true to myself or my God. After all, Jesus taught us to provide that basic social safety net for the least of his children.

Again, how far apart are we? Are we closer than I think? Do we overlap more than I know? More than it seems?