As the actions of the Trump administration become increasingly disturbing, I'm put in mind of three categories of voters and their roles in this new reality: blatant racists, latent racists/xenophobes, and one-issue voters.
Blatant racists: I hope and believe that this is truly a small group of Americans. Unfortunately, though, (as Aziz Ansari pointed out) they are empowered and emboldened by Trump's election. Somehow they feel they can be openly racist now. I'm just certain that when I was a kid in the 80s and 90s you could not claim free speech to protect your bigotry. I remember ass-kickings and threatened ass-kickings for the white boys who dared to repeat what dad or grandpa was saying at home. It was just clear: you don't say racist things. Whether that was a real or imagined reality, it's one worth pursuing.
Latent racists and xenophobes: Another small group, but closely tied to the one-issue voters. These are the white folks who aren't loudly or actively racist, but because of a lack of diversity in their world they generally distrust other cultures and races (definition of xenophobia) and won't get riled up as a result of Trump's ban on Muslims or racial injustice in our nation. If it doesn't hurt them, they don't really care. On the flip side, if it does hurt them (ie jobs in WV or PA) they don't mind policies that hurt others if they think they'll get something (jobs) out of it. They're selfish and misguided, but arguably not actively hateful. That leads us to the largest, and most shameful category.
One-issue voters: No matter what other negative outcomes may be possible, the only thing that these voters care about is their one issue. As far as I can tell, the biggest group are the anti-choice abortion protestors. The funny things is that the vast majority of the anti-choice bloc claim to be Christians*. Yet, they abandon all of the other teachings of Jesus Christ in order to perseverate on poetic descriptions of YHWH's love for humanity (Jer. 1:5; Psalm 139:13). These voters don't care that their candidates abandon the poor, addicts, refugees, the elderly, widows/widowers, veterans, children (students), the sick, minority groups, and immigrants; all of these being things that Jesus Christ directly addressed. Hypocrisy runs deep. These are the voters who are to blame for the fascism that is on our doorstep today.
What's strange, is that despite the steady decrease of abortions since Roe V. Wade, they fail to see that policies which improve the plight of all of these groups would reduce the need for medically-unnecessary abortions because it would address the desperation that often accompanies unplanned pregnancy. Not to mention the ridiculous notion that birth-control interferes with God's plan.
So, thank you, one-issue voters for sacrificing our good name as human beings on the altar of your piety. As convicted as you are, you've gotten it very, very wrong.
*It is important to note that there are perhaps as many as 40,000 separate organizations identifying themselves as Christian denominations. Some organizations represent different bodies with shared beliefs, while the full spectrum of doctrine runs the gamut. So logically, though the voting bloc I'm critiquing largely identifies as Christian, it should not be perceived that all Christians hold these beliefs.
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