Nina Ye

On Election Day, I volunteered as a student judge at a local polling place. Over the course of 15 hours, I helped nine other volunteers move furniture, set up machines and process nearly 1,000 voters. I learned a lot that day, both about United States politics and the American people, but the most valuable thing I took away was the importance of being humble.

One of my co-workers was an electrician, a MAGA Republican. Short for “Make America Great Again,” MAGA Republicans are characterized by an extreme loyalty to President-elect Donald Trump and a distrust for mainstream political institutions. A disillusioned veteran, he served a tour of duty in Iraq and three in Afghanistan. During one of our breaks, we chatted about our daily lives. The conversation quickly shifted to politics, and what he said was eye-opening. He told me about how “global banking” had colonized the world; about the “three-letter agencies” (the CIA, FBI, etc.) and how they monitor and suppress the American people and about how the “deep state,” secretive parts of the government that interfere behind the scenes, had thrown him into Iraq and are now running this country into the ground.

Liberals are trained to see people like him as “conspiracy theorists,” “misinformed” or even “weird.” These labels are great for shutting down arguments, but they almost never change minds. What’s more, they’re quickly becoming powerless.

Trust in the mainstream media has plummeted to an all-time low. In an October poll by Gallup, only 31% of Americans said they trusted the media “a great deal.” And as the popularity of the neoliberal establishment wanes, faith in the media will only keep shrinking with it.

Especially as the U.S. deindustrialized after the Cold War and the costs of living have skyrocketed, many working Americans feel betrayed by the new status quo. And why shouldn’t they? The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation reports that American students are falling behind those of other developed countries in international tests. The Kaiser Foundation found that over 100 million Americans are in debt from healthcare costs. But even as our education system falls behind and our healthcare system falls apart, successive presidencies have prioritized unleashing bestial carnage across Africa and the Middle East. Taxpayer dollars that could have gone to building new infrastructure or creating jobs for our homeless population have instead been squandered to “defend democracy” in other continents, which is usually just code for “we’re gonna steal your money to bomb foreigners for natural resources.”

To be clear, this mess obviously wasn’t caused by Democrats alone, and many resisted every step of the way. But in an age defined by anger and distrust, the figureheads will take the blame.

Populism is here to stay, and MAGA isn’t going anywhere. Lashing out, however satisfying, isn’t going to change that.