A Letter to Anna and Sim: Because Anna Faris Asked for Understanding Regarding Trump
My name is Faith Wuenschel, from Texas (one of those Red States), and I wanted to write to you regarding my opinion of the outcome of this election and to potentially help give you a little understanding.
First, let me start by saying how much I truly love your podcast. I have listened to every single episode and can’t wait for my drive to and from work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays because I know I’ll be listening to your voices.
Now, to answer Anna’s question:
“Please, dear listeners, will you help me understand? Help me. I wanna know. I wanna know. I wanna be able to relate to everybody or at least attempt to."
Anna, I really want to thank you for asking your listeners to help you understand. I can’t express how happy I was to hear you ask for understanding about this situation. For the last few weeks I’ve genuinely wanted to answer this exact question from my point of view, but I haven’t really felt the confidence to write this out and post this on social media or anything like that. Until now.
See, I have never (stressing the word NEVER) been one to openly talk politics with anyone. In fact, I often shy away from it, just nodding quietly or slipping away and leaving the conversation. However, I have discussed more politics with more people in this few months than I have in my entire life. Though it almost seems to be that way for everyone due to the insanity of this election and all of the drama surrounding it. Or perhaps it just feels that way because it's so recent.
Now, I assume that what you want to understand is why are we here? Why did half of our country vote for Donald Trump? Why did the electoral college result in a Donald Trump victory? And to be honest, I’ve been asking myself this same question.
I believe Donald Trump to be a gross, sexist, misogynistic, selfish, bigoted, idiotic pig. And for the first few months of this insane political campaign I could not wrap my head around why anyone would vote him into office.
So, let’s start with the primaries. Why did Donald Trump win the Primaries? My understanding is that the Republican Party, or rather those voting for the Republican candidate, were simply tired of politicians, they felt over run by them, maybe bulldozed by them, maybe not listened to, I don't know, but the way I understand it they were tired of politicians not getting the job done, so they wanted something completely different, And obviously Donald Trump is COMPLETELY different. Why they thought he would be a good kind of different, I'm not entirely sure, but this is where we ended up.
Texas did not vote for Trump in the primaries, so I did not have many serious discussions about him until after he won the primaries. Honestly, I just figured it was some big joke and that he would be nixed quickly.
Anyway, back to the results of the election.
I was born and raised in Texas in a very conservative environment. I still live in Texas in a very conservative environment. Needless to say, I have been surrounded by many, many, MANY people who voted for Donald Trump in this year's presidential election. Friends, family, acquaintances. People I love, people I tolerate, people who irritate me to no end. And I’ve had many conversations to learn why people voted for him. (I have also been surrounded by and had many conversations with many friends and family and irritating people who voted for Hillary Clinton, but I assume I don’t need to share their reasonings with you.)
I think the simple answer to your question is that the vast majority of the voting population did not vote for Donald Trump. What I mean is that most of those who put his name on their ballot were not voting for HIM. Many of the people I have spoken with, who voted for Donald Trump, have said it was the single hardest vote they've had to make, how they don't respect him as a man. How they think he's disgusting. How they think he's selfish. How they think he's a horrible, horrible human being. How they had to look past that, past all of it, in order to vote. Those who voted for him were not voting FOR him, but AGAINST Hillary, or FOR the Republican Party, or FOR one specific issue that means the most to them, the Pro-Life agenda for instance, or FOR Pence, or FOR change, or AGAINST politicians.
I've heard people say that it's choosing the lesser of two evils; trying to decide which evil they would rather live with. But I think what it comes down to, honestly, is that this year the Republicans beat the Democrats. I don't think that it had anything to do with the candidates. In fact, I think it was in spite of the candidates that this election happened. I did notice that the media seemed to be incredibly biased toward Hillary Clinton. All media outlooks, except for FOX, seemed to be in support of Hillary and completely against Donald Trump. I do know at least one young adult who voted against the media, simply tired of the media cramming Hillary down his throat, giving him only one option.
I think this election just came down to political parties.
It saddens me that the results of this Presidential election led so many people to look down on America; that so many people seem to believe that half of the American population are misogynists and bigots and sexists and racists simply because half of the American population, or rather half of the participating voting population in America, voted for someone who seems to be all of those things. I do not believe this to be true. I do not believe America should be looked upon in such a negative light. I believe the percentage of our population to actually fit under these categories to be a minuscule percentage. So please. Do not worry about the fate of our country.
Finally, I just want to say that I did not vote for Donald Trump. I could not bring myself to vote for him because I did not think I could live with myself. For me, it simply came down to which political candidate did I agree with on the most issues and I really did the research. So I voted Libertarian. And yes, I know many people see a vote for a third party member as a non-vote, but I have to disagree. I voted for the candidate with whom I agreed on the most issues. And because I believe that if enough people voted for third party member, a third party member would be elected. But they don’t because we’re a two party country.
One benefit I personally got out of this election is an understanding and patience for those who do not share the same political views as me.
I think that this presidential election has given me a great deal of understanding and patience for all people who participated in this election: the voters, the nonvoters, and the politicians. It has given me a lot of insight into why people vote the way that they do. I have always loved people for who they are, but for the longest time, if somebody didn't agree with me on certain political aspects, it was hard for me to want to discuss anything remotely political with them. However, I realized that as long as the person I was speaking to could give me a valid reason as to why they voted the way they did, I respected them and I supported their vote, even if I did not support the person they were voting for. Does that make sense?
I really hope this helps you understand, at least in part. Obviously, this is just one person’s point of view, a person who is not politically inclined, but a person who tries everyday to relate to and empathize with everyone.
Anyway, I love you both a lot. Thank you so much for your wonderful podcast and thank you for this opportunity to share with you.
I just wanted to be yet another person to let you know just how highly I think of what you're doing. Anna especially. To have such a public figure give such wonderful advice, as well as have so many other public figures join her, it's amazing! Thank you so much for that!
I love you both and I love how much you care for your listeners and your guests! Please keep doing what you’re doing!
