As the Democratic candidate for the Maine House District 144, a conservative rural district that comprises Houlton and much of southern Aroostook County, I spent a lot of time last summer and fall engaged with my neighbors – many of whom expressed their political leanings via Trump signs on their lawns. Now, watching our country convulsed in the aftermath of Jan. 6 and the transition of executive leadership, I think back on those conversations and find hope in a time that often feels quite bleak.
I’ll admit: I was nervous at first, knowing that my decision to run would force challenging conversations with people who hold quite different political perspectives from mine. On my first trip through The County, my dad, who was my constant campaign companion, joked that I was wearing my new running shoes for good reason.
As it turned out, the running shoes were completely unnecessary. In reaching out with a genuine interest in what makes meaning in people’s lives and responding with empathy, people began to open up. I was humbled to hear not only their middle-of-the-night worries but the dreams that inspire their waking hours. Regardless of the signs we place on our lawns, we have a shared set of deeply human concerns and hopes – the desire to build a good life for our families; to enjoy the fruits of our hard work; to live in vibrant, healthy communities; and to save for a comfortable retirement. When we center on what moves us daily rather than the politicized rhetoric that divides us, we’re not so different. And that gives us a foundation for meaningful discussion, mutual understanding, and, eventually, cooperation in achieving a progressive vision for what this world can be.
Even in conversations with Trump supporters, I heard countless concerns that progressive approaches would start to address – and clear openings for further discussion. I listened to accounts of individuals who were struggling to afford prescriptions or pay medical bills, despite being gainfully employed with job-based health insurance. Of folks who couldn’t find affordable in-home care for elderly parents and, as a result, made incredible personal sacrifices to provide support for their loved ones. Of families that make constant trade-offs between necessities – and can’t even consider the dance lessons or sports activities in which their children want to participate. Of people who worry about their financial security in later life, given that they live so close to the margins today. I heard an overarching sense of being left behind and disregarded. And of fear for the future.
Using the subtext of race, the party of Trump has managed to exploit these fears, which animate the values, ideas, and actions that currently threaten to destroy our democracy. Whether articulated as an urban versus rural, immigrant versus citizen, or Black (and Brown) versus white issue, the racist, authoritarian leadership of today’s Republican party and its enablers in the right-wing media have stoked division by otherizing people of color and creating profound mistrust of their interests. Yet far from being excluded in favor of ‘others,’ my white neighbors are being abandoned by our government alongside Black and Brown people.
Frankly, I’m not sure that a progressive movement will ever connect with individuals who express their anger and frustration in the embrace of an authoritarian leader. But we need to acknowledge that these same emotions and suspicions also gnaw at so many others who aren’t taking to the streets but are instead sitting at the kitchen table prioritizing and re-prioritizing family expenses, trying desperately to make ends meet. I believe that we must make a place for many of these neighbors who simply want better — for themselves, for their kids and grandkids, for their older parents during COVID, for their small, rural communities.
Given my experience as a candidate, I’ve thought a lot about why a progressive message hasn’t resonated with many of my neighbors here in The County. How do we connect the “of the people, by the people, for the people” ethos to the daily realities of life in The County? How do we articulate a bold message of prosperity and equality that includes and engages the rural conservative family working hard to make ends meet? How do we create and hold space for the diversity of opinions and experience necessary to build broader coalitions in the service of social and economic change? Because that’s what we need to do, even when our moral or political compasses don’t align on every single issue. And these things begin with real listening and empathy, even when that work challenges some of our sensibilities.
Photo: Beacon
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