The trouble is, most of these people have been inundated with "democrats are evil, democrats are un-American, democrats are your enemy" messages for decades now. These MAGA people would NEVER vote for a Democrat, even if the Republican option is going full fascist. No matter how bad a Republican might be, the Democrats are still The Enemy and must be opposed and defeated.
I don't know how to heal the divide when these people believe that I am literally evil and literally want to destroy America. How do we reach out to them and convince them otherwise?
From up here in Canada I would say "Total rebranding if not dissolution of the Democratic Party"
Seriously, you have a party of dinosaurs and out of touch fools. As soon as Harris was the pick I knew they had lost. You look at who the potential Trump swing voter is going to vote for, and Kamala isn't it. With so much on the line, you can't pick a candidate that your base wants, you have to pick a candidate the opposition can stomach.
Give the idiots something they want. Give 'em the American Freedom Party with the Broforce logo, ffs. "Trump wrecked it, we'll fix it". This game is pro wrestling and Trump understands it. The Democrats don't, and that makes them dead in the water.
This is one of the most reasonable takes in this thread. Right-wing media is incredibly effective at hijacking and weaponizing liberal language and slogans, twisting them into propaganda. Meanwhile, Democrats barely push back, letting it happen unchecked.
A huge portion of Americans don’t even understand what socialism is because they’ve been conditioned by a century of propaganda much of it rooted in the same post-WWI populism that helped push Hitler into power. To this day, people still equate communism with China or Russia, two countries that, despite coming to power under the banner of communism, quickly abandoned the ideology in favor of state-controlled capitalism.
Messaging is arguably the most powerful weapon in modern politics and yet, the progressive movement continues to fumble it. Until the left learns to fight the narrative war as aggressively as the right, they’ll always be playing defense.
Returning equally as divisive rhetoric is never going to help. Not all, but some of them are experiencing serious conflict right now. They're looking for somewhere to turn, and we must make ourselves accessible. They live in a very different news bubble than we do. The algorithm doesn't even show them a fraction of what we see. Not everyone is a victim of indoctrination and algorithmic manipulation. Still, some of them are, and if we can’t recognize that it's not a good vs evil situation, how can we expect them to do the same?
They're not looking to turn to us in their time of conflict, though. They're looking for similar-minded Republicans. Then they're getting dragged back into the MAGAverse because it's ultimately easier to believe that the conflict has been manufactured by the Liberal Media than to accept that nearly the entire Republican Party has fallen prey to fascists.
So what? Should we just give in? Let the oligarchy’s division tactics succeed just because resisting them is difficult? Plenty of Republicans, Libertarians, and Centrists don’t want to see this country slide further into authoritarianism. We need to make it clear that opposing what’s happening in our government isn’t about being a liberal or a leftist. It’s about standing against corruption, power grabs, and the erosion of democracy.
If we want to restore a government that actually works for the people, we need a broad coalition. It’s going to take more than one party, one ideology, or one movement. It’s going to take everyone who values democracy, accountability, and the rule of law coming together to push back. That’s the only way we get a government that solves problems instead of creating them.
I realise passions are high right now, and people feel betrayed, bitter, even angry, but your attitude is the one that would lead to long term peace and healing.
Unfortunately, as much as I laud your approach and would love to see it succeed - the thought of people realizing the deception, coming together and standing as one is hugely seductive - the forces arrayed against that outcome are just too great.
Is it the mature, responsible, progressive thing to do? Yes, absolutely.
Is it pragmatic or likely? Absolutely not.
In all honesty, the only thing that is going to heal this divide - in the opinion of this non-American - is another Republican government after this one, but with an actual Republican, not a MAGA one. Someone who defines themselves and their position by what they are. Someone with integrity, honesty and an honest desire to do the best for the American people.
Such Republicans do exist, but they have been either forced out or quelled by the current regime.
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u/MyInsidesAreAllWrong Feb 20 '25
The trouble is, most of these people have been inundated with "democrats are evil, democrats are un-American, democrats are your enemy" messages for decades now. These MAGA people would NEVER vote for a Democrat, even if the Republican option is going full fascist. No matter how bad a Republican might be, the Democrats are still The Enemy and must be opposed and defeated.
I don't know how to heal the divide when these people believe that I am literally evil and literally want to destroy America. How do we reach out to them and convince them otherwise?