Liberal Activism in the Age of Trump
The author, an animal rights activist, argues that resistance is important but that we also should speak with and listen to people with different views.
by Michael C. Dorf
Professor of Law at Cornell University
for Justia
As the shock of Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election wears off, those of us who supported Hillary Clinton or other candidates have begun to grapple with the question of how to resist the greatest potential dangers of Trump’s presidency. The best way to mitigate the damage differs for liberals and those conservatives who opposed Trump.
As I wrote on my blog the morning after the election, I very much hope that highly skilled formerly anti-Trump conservatives will seek and receive jobs working in the Trump administration. Why would Trump hire people who opposed him? Chiefly because he needs talented knowledgeable professionals to run even a minimally competent government. Meanwhile, principled conservatives who respect the rule of law working from the inside can moderate or even reject the most radical proposals that Trump espoused during the campaign—such as banning Muslims from entering the country, committing the war crimes of torture and plunder, and rounding up millions of undocumented immigrants.
Liberals can, should, and will oppose Trump’s most dangerous ideas by constantly speaking out against them. In a democracy, elections temporarily settle the question of who governs. They do not resolve questions of fact or of right-versus-wrong. Global warming will not cease simply because some Trump supporters believe it is a hoax. Nor can any number of votes validate the misogyny, xenophobia, and racism that Trump and some of his supporters displayed during the campaign. Thus, speaking truth to power is imperative. But it is not enough.
This election should have taught liberals and those establishment conservatives who opposed Trump that our world view is opposed by a great many of our fellow citizens. Too many of those fellow citizens are, as Clinton unfortunately put it, deplorable. Yet even some of them may not be beyond redemption. If we want to build a world in which presidential candidates do not pander to humanity’s basest otherizing instincts, we should aim to persuade our fellow humans of our point of view, not merely to organize to outvote them.
Although I hardly claim to be an expert in human relations, much less in politics, I do have relevant experience, because for the last decade or so, I have been a vegan supporter of animal rights. Lessons From Animal Activism. Perhaps that sounds like a non sequitur, so let me explain...
More here:
https://verdict.justia.com/2016/11/16/liberal-activism-age-trump
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