Votes vs Hearts
She said that Democrats try to win votes, while Republicans try to win hearts. Now, I think it’s clear that most Democratic voters don’t want their candidates to play as dirty as they perceive Republicans do. You can tell some Democrats are even a bit squeamish about their defensive redistricting efforts. The fact is that if Democrats played the way Republicans do, liberals wouldn’t support them. (See, for example, former registered Democrat Donald Trump).
I do think Democrats have to stand up to Republicans and not worry so much about not being perceived as having the moral high ground. They’re already starting to do this and it’s a good thing. But they can win without going all the way to the “Dark Side” (and before I lose the non-politically-inclined, this really isn’t a post about how Democrats can win or how great they are, I know the Democratic party is deeply flawed; it’s just context).
This guest observed that Democrats don’t have a CPAC or a Turning Point USA. Consider:
• When Young Republicans bring a speaker to campus, it’s someone like Charlie Kirk who’s there to make potential Republicans feel good about being Republican
• when Young Democrats bring a speaker to campus it’s to try to convince kids to vote for that speaker or whomever they support
By the same token, the left doesn’t have a FOX News network, which, she pointed out, wouldn’t have to be all propaganda all the time, it could be:
• Cooking shows that emphasize environmentally-friendly and healthy choices
• Faith-based shows that show how Christianity is aligned with liberal values
• Legal dramas about crusading civil rights lawyers
And so on. In short, things that make liberals/Democrats feel good about being liberals/Democrats. Right now, the Democratic party has no interest in making left-leaning people feel good about their identity. They’re focused on demanding you vote for them to fight fascism—which is a good and noble goal, but it’s just not one that mobilizes most Americans, especially young ones. They want to feel good. And who doesn’t?
Heal or Conquer?
A couple days later I was watching a TV drama about intolerable tech bros in Silicon Valley, and one particularly Machiavellian character stated that all of the billionaire class are at some point faced with the choice of heal or conquer—try to fix the world or try to control it. And while both roads have appeal, they almost inevitably choose the latter.
And why? Because in a sick way, that’s the more hopeful choice, that’s the one that feels actually achievable. That’s the one that’s going to make them feel good. And again, we all want to feel good.
And that’s the point of this essay; I’ve decided that if we want to fix the United States of America, the most powerful country in the world, we’ve got to make people feel good about being good again.
Because that’s possible. That’s achievable. We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t. The way evolution works is that adaptive behaviors survive, and the way they survive is that the people whose pleasure centers are stimulated by those adaptive behaviors survive. That’s why sweet and starchy foods taste so good, because any potential ancestors who would have thought that donuts and French fries were puke and thought their feces tasted like candy starved or got dysentery and died before they had a chance to have kids.
So human society, which was founded in cooperation and a belief in helping one’s fellow person, wasn’t created by people who took their medicine because it was the “right thing to do.” Biology doesn’t give a damn about your morality. It was created by people who felt good about helping each other. Somewhere deep within virtually all of us lies a gene responsible for something called reciprocal altruism. We are biologically hardwired to help others, because people who help others tend to form like-minded communities which benefits all and allows those communities to flourish.
That gene apparently lies dormant in large swaths of 21st century America, except in the baldest, most direct way of wanting to help those in the tiniest band of your tribe; your family, your best friends, maybe some people in your religious group, that’s it. The people have spoken, and it seems that large segments of American culture have been conditioned to prioritize tribalism over communal welfare. Not everyone, of course. But too many. And way too many who call themselves Christians or patriots while exhibiting none of the characteristics of either.
So here’s my plea. To individuals and to the liberal and Democratic politicians who will never read this unless I become super famous. MAFGABGA. Make America Feel Good About Being Good Again.
Because it can feel good. Studies have shown that people suffering from loneliness and depression often benefit from doing charity work as much as or more than anything else. There’s a famous story about Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President, that goes like this:
Mr. Lincoln once remarked to a fellow-passenger on an old-time mud-catch that all men were prompted by selfishness in doing good. His fellow-passenger was antagonizing this position when they were passing over a corduroy bridge that spanned a slough. As they crossed this bridge they espied an old razorbacked sow on the bank making a terrible noise because her pigs had got into the slough and were in danger of drowning. As the old coach began to climb the hill, Mr. Lincoln called out, “Driver, can’t you stop just a moment?” Then Mr. Lincoln jumped out, ran back and lifted the little pigs out of the mud and water and placed them on the bank. When he returned, his companion remarked: “Now Abe, where does selfishness come in on this little episode?” “Why bless your soul, Ed, that was the very essence of selfishness. I should have had no peace of mind all day had I gone on and left that suffering old sow worrying over those pigs. I did it to get peace of mind, don’t you see?”
Human beings are all at core self-interested, which some may regard as selfish. But being good can be selfish. We’ve gotten used to the idea that only taking care of our own and being blind to the suffering of others is natural, and kindness, empathy, and compassion towards those different from ourselves is something that must be forced on people, but it’s not. Maybe if we can remind ourselves of that and do our part to try to help others see it, the world can actually be a better place.
If you agree, disagree, or have a good example of this, feel free to drop a comment. I’ll be sure to respond.
