For more on the 2024 American election results, read this piece by Elephant’s Editor-in-chief, Waylon Lewis: Trump wins. And, on a Buddhist approach to coping without ignoring.

*Editor’s Note: Elephant Journal articles represent the personal views of the authors, and can not possibly reflect Elephant Journal as a whole. Disagree with an Op-Ed or opinion? We’re happy to share your experience here. 

We’re honored to feature Jeff Brown on Elephant, an indie, mindful community since 2002. Support indie media, not Substack or Medium or the many tech-controlled social platforms, merely! I’ve added a few notes but as always love Jeff and love diversity of opinions, if not facts. ~ WHL, ed.

Meeting people where they are (not where you think they should be)…

Dear Friend:

As I watched the US electoral race unfold, I had a sense that Trump was going to win. The following may be some of the reasons why. I’m a Canadian, so take my thoughts with a grain of snow…

(1) MASLOW. You have to meet people where they are, before you can take them somewhere else. Trump spoke to where people are with respect to their basic needs and security concerns. So many disenfranchised and hard working Americans felt validated. If people don’t feel seen, they won’t vote for you, even if they agree with you about some of the other issues that you prioritize. Food on the table trumps more subtle considerations. Survivalism always comes first when push comes to shove;

(2) PRIMAL SYMBOLOGY. Whether we like it or not, humans are still attracted to the Strong Man archetype. This is particularly true during bewildering times. They are willing to put up with the excesses of patriarchy (and yes, even its misogyny), if they get a feeling that Big Daddy is going to take care of them in their hour of need. This caveman conditioning is deep in our bones. If we want it to shift, we have to stabilize society rather than bewilder it;

(3) BEING YOURSELF. It is fundamental to the American Zeitgeist and its origins to be fully yourself. However you feel about Trump, he is who he is. You can’t script him, you can’t alter him, you can’t get him to adapt to traditional agendas. He is persistently himself, even when it appears to be entirely against his better interest. This gives many people permission to be exactly who they are, in a painfully judgmental world;

(4) KNOWING WHAT YOU ARE GETTING. When things get dicey, people want to know what they are dealing with [even if that leader is consistently…unpredictable ~ ed]. This is fundamental to a survivalist consciousness. If there is even the slightest uncertainty about who or what someone is, they turn away. Trump satisfies their need to know what something is. He is consistently defined. The Left no longer is. Too many celebrities, too many costumes, too many identities, too many relational adaptations. It leaves a bewildered population even more confused about what they are getting if they vote for them;

(5) PEOPLE WANT REAL CHANGE. The populace has grown deeply tired of the same old political patter, the same old gap between what is said and what is hidden from view [even if Biden deeply invested in the middle class, those changes take time to bear fruit ~ ed.]. They just don’t trust it anymore. Every single politician says that things are going to change. And then, they don’t. Trump said that he is going to turn things upside down for real. And they know that he means it. He will surely effect change. Quite apart from whether they will actually be happy about those changes later, they were so hungry for a shift that they voted for it. They want something radical to happen. They can’t live with the status quo any longer;

(6) PACE OF CHANGE. One of the things that so-called progressives often do—and I have surely been guilty of this—is to assume that their evolution is everyone else’s evolution. I call it “the narcissism of progress.” 

It’s when you grow and evolve, and then project the assumption of growth onto others, as though they are you and see the world through your eyes. [Remember Kamala’s slogan, “We won’t go back! ~ ed]

Big mistake. We must never assume that someone else shares our idea of evolution, and we must always move in step with the natural pace of change. Many humans can only integrate so many new ideas and shifts in their consciousness over a period of time. This is particularly true during chaotic times, when they are just trying to batten down the hatches and do what has worked for them (and our species) over time. If you don’t strike the just right balance between chaos and order, there will be a backlash. Over the last four years, the left has pushed hard on a variety of new perspectives.

I agree with some of them, but it is too much, too soon. For the purposes of preserving their mental health, the populace has pushed back to a more familiar, comforting, conservative way of being.

(7) INTELLECTUAL SUPERIORITY. Both sides call each other names, but the left has a habit of scolding and chiding the electorate in a way that makes them feel inadequate and inferior. They aren’t. When you talk down to people, you confirm that you are not in service to them, and you deepen the polarization that is destroying our species. We all stand on each other’s shoulders. Any party that doesn’t transmit that understanding to the electorate will inevitably lose them. Simply put, nobody cares who your famous friends are, or if you know where to get the best avocado toast in the Hamptons. They care about what you are going to do for them. [Editor’s note: mega billionaires like Elon, Trump himself, and tech bros are on the Right. And insults and threats flow from Trump far, far more than from liberal leaders, to be sure. ~ ed]

(8) THE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY ARGUMENT. People are no more likely to believe that the Right is a threat to democracy than the Left. They fear the extremes of both in equal measure, as they should. [Again, only one side has threatened basic voting rights, waiving the Constitution, or violence—but it’s a valid point on some level. ~ ed]. They also know that tyranny always masquerades as benevolence. Those who seek power are simply not the same as those who seek service. There is always a risk of democracy being undermined when the stakes are that high. We know that now. We won’t forget anytime soon. 

~