Dear Trump voters,
I confess we are not well acquainted. I probably check every box that you loathe, fear or at the very least don't like. I'm an atheist, liberal, immigrant and a woman. Admittedly, I also live in a tech bubble. Perhaps, that instinctively makes you not want to trust me but please hear me out:
There are a multitude of reasons why you voted for Trump but the overwhelming criticism by far is that the 'liberal elite' ignored the middle-class white Americans whose central issue in this election was jobs. If you are this person, then my plea is addressed to you.
I understand that you feel like the current administration has introduced policy after policy to benefit the poor but they have not done much for the white working middle class who are bleeding steady jobs to China and India. When you or someone you know is living paycheck to paycheck or even worse don't have any means to pay the bills, it's perhaps infuriating to hear phrases like 'white privilege'. I get it. And when you feel like your children may not have better lives than you do or the realization that your lives are perhaps not as good as your parents', I understand why issues like transgender rights or climate change may not be your main concerns.
Not that long ago, if you are white, you had a certain path to the American dream, but now you feel like that vision has dissipated without warning. I understand that electing Trump was your attempt at having your voices heard. You succeeded! We all heard you loud and clear. That said, we fear that Donald Trump nor the Republican party is going to bring back the era that you are pining for. While he was making promises to bring back jobs, Uber piloted their self-driving trucks. We cannot halt the progress on automation, innovation or globalization.
Building a wall and deporting illegal immigrants won't do any good unless you intend to take over back-breaking farm jobs with low wages. We already know that's not what you want. I know he called China a currency manipulator and that they are 'raping our country'. The truth of the matter is we have a symbiotic relationship with China that cannot be easily severed. Not to mention the uncomfortable fact that we owe them nearly $1.2 trillion in debt.
Let's face it, you are not going to get back manufacturing jobs unless it becomes economically viable to do so. Maybe he can do that by abolishing minimum wage or isolating ourselves from the rest of the world. If that happens, rest assured, you won't be living an American dream instead we will be following the footsteps of the North Korean nightmare.
One way to deal with it is through universal basic income. However, this is not going to happen under the Trump administration. Also, we are not oblivious to the fact that you take pride in your work and you don't want hand-outs, so to speak.
That brings me to my plea: During the debate, Trump mentioned fixing the crumbling infrastructure. While I disagree that "our airports are like from a third-world country," I agree with the sentiment of investing in rebuilding this country. This has the potential to provide new jobs across America. President Obama tried to do this but the congress did not lend its support. They are not likely to change their position under Trump presidency either, unless you with this same level of passion make your voices heard among your Republican elected officials. If you do that, we, the liberals, will gladly join you to make it happen.
What we request in return is that you do not get side-tracked into a cultural war. Attacking innocent people or reversing the progress made to help marginalized groups will not improve your job prospects. It's nothing but a distraction. Pitting people against each other is a zero-sum game. Instead, can we unify to work towards everyone's economic prosperity?
Sincerely,
A concerned liberal