"I'm curious what Trump appeals to for 60m+ Americans".

I hear this almost daily from my friends in SF.

Each time I'm increasingly concerned about the myopic view of the left (& media outlets...)

This summer I started following many Republicans on Twitter. A ... (1/x) https://twitter.com/AmandaMGoetz/status/1324342880429899777

This was my response to Amanda - who I love following on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/michelletandler/status/1324374602332598273

(2/x)

I'll start by clarifying a few things:
+ I'm a lifelong Democrat
+ I have never once voted for a Republican (yet)
+ I'm from SF where we have very few Republicans
+ When I went to college my eyes were opened (3/x)

In college, I studied Classical Liberal Thought with a famous professor, Alan Charles Kors.

I was absolutely aghast that nobody had shown me this side of conservative thought growing up in SF.

The power of the individual, personal responsibility, lack of gov oversight. (4/x)

It made sense to me in a deep way. I felt humbled & confused. Angry that I had been told throughout my life that conservatives were essentially evil. That they didn't care about others.

What I saw in the literature was the opposite. The belief in the rights & power of mankind.

Many governments throughout history have been deeply evil. Look at Stalin, Hitler, Castro, Mussolini.... Powerful governments can go deeply astray.

My favorite philosophers were Hayek, Mises, Mill, and yes, Rand. I loved opening my mind to seeing people as powerful individuals.

What I see today from the right echoes many of the things I read about in my favorite course, The Literature of Political Disillusionment.

Less of a hatred towards others, more of a fear of big government & control. A fear of taxation without representation. Of backlash.

This summer I saw the right show frustration at shutdowns while millions were out protesting (& looting).

I saw them look at cities like SF, aghast.

At our policies which turn a blind eye to crime & destitution while we continually tax & fund businesses with little oversight.

I see a fear of the "woke" left and cancel culture.

Of affirmative action going too far.

Of tax increases that hit the middle class hardest, while the rich aren't really impacted.

Of the media - where a conservative op-ed gets you fired, & where everybody seems to agree...

It is my perception that the right deeply understands the views of the left, but the opposite is not true.

As Albert Einstein said, "when we all think alike, no one thinks very much."

This summer I grew deeply concerned with the virtue signaling I saw across my friend group...

At one point my Instagram feed looked like one long ad campaign about defunding the police.

It felt like a rabid spirit had taken over. There was no intellectual debate. Just slogans, finger pointing & complete lack of data.

Frankly, I felt scared.

I worry that we have lost the plot.

As we bicker over who is paying for what, who has what jobs, who goes to what college, who is carrying this nation...

... we're being left behind on the international stage.

(12/x)

As we fight internally, Asia & Europe are educating their children & investing in a social security net.

They are building infrastructure, going green, & creating alliances that will serve them in the future.

Meanwhile, our debt grows & our pace of innovation shrinks. (13/x)

One of the reasons I am so passionate about SF issues is that I see everybody fighting viciously over national ones -- unproductively.

We have serious problems right in our back yard.

The progressive leadership here remains unchecked. I think this is problematic. (14/x)

My hope is that more people funnel their anger & frustration into curiosity & productive action.

This seems to be where @AmandaMGoetz landed and I admire that.

America is in trouble - we all know it.

I believe a lot of change can happen, but it has to come from us. (Fin)