Make America Empathetic Again

By Callista DeGraw

I was a junior in high school when Donald Trump was elected. I remember waking up on November 9 feeling completely and utterly defeated, and I wondered how our nation could have chosen a man who only months prior had mocked a disabled reporter and joked about assaulting women. It still baffles me. 

More than anything, I began to notice a change in the country. It’s no coincidence that as it became more acceptable for Trump to say whatever he thought, no matter how offensive, the public became more comfortable saying whatever they thought. Closeted racists, sexists, and homophobes were no longer closeted. The old adage “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” flew right out the window. I got into arguments with people who disagreed with me on very fundamental issues because I couldn’t figure out how to tell people they should just care about other people. 

For me, it comes down to empathy. I value empathy above almost all else, and I was troubled it had seemed to disappear from people’s minds altogether. 

This brings me to 2020, 10 months before I will vote in my first presidential election. Here I am, in Iowa, campaigning for Pete Buttigieg—a presidential candidate I believe in. The reason I bring up empathy is because when I saw Pete speak in New Hampshire this summer, I felt he saw me and heard me. He was able to empathize with the issues people in this country face every day. 

Coincidentally, when my fellow volunteers and I started training to phone bank and canvass, we were encouraged to sell Pete with empathy. Instead of talking to prospective caucus-goers about why Pete is the best for one policy issue or another, we talk to them about our “moment”: a personal reason for why we support him or an example of why a policy idea of his is important to us. I’ve found that people really are more compelled to speak with me when I get personal, when I get real, when I empathize with the things they care about.

But here’s one of my most pressing thoughts: you, too, should be campaigning for and voting for who you believe in. No matter how I feel about the other candidates, I love that so many people, in Iowa and across the country, are passionate enough to go out and say, “I get you, this candidate gets you, and here’s how I know.” In the three days I’ve been volunteering, I’ve found that really is my favorite part of campaigning. 

Regardless of who voters choose to support and regardless of differences in opinions, people who are dedicated enough to spend eight hours making phone calls or brave two-degree weather are doing so because they believe in a better future for the country. Isn’t that future only possible when we care about each other?