Do You See Me Now?

Two occurrences today have prompted me to write. One was the T-shirt a man was wearing in the grocery store; the second was an article my daughter sent featuring a discussion between Patrick Healy and David Brooks of the NY Times titled Why The Democrats Are Losing to Trump. This article appeared on March 6, 2025 just after Donald Trump’s speech to congress. (BTW – this post fits in the ‘Writing History’ category.)

The T-shirt looked like this – except the words were ‘Do You See Me Now?”

I stopped in the aisle full of snacks and beverages to consider (1) the T-shirt itself and (2) that the man seemed to be wearing it proudly. By the way, the T-shirt was somewhat faded which suggests that it had been worn and washed frequently. Why would an individual choose to walk around as a statement of his political beliefs and his animosity towards Democrats?

I’d read the Healy/Brooks article before going for groceries and when I got back from groceries, I read it again. First they offered some highlights about Trump’s actions and his ability to connect with his followers:

• Donald Trump (hereafter referred to as Trump) projects a ‘powerful America’. He acts from a position of dominance and retribution. (Full disclosure, I added the word retribution.)
• Trump stands for the amassing of power and the destruction of anything that restrains his power such as the bureaucracy, the military complex, the media and so on.
• Trump has clearly identified that MAGA republicans do not feel respected; they live in an atmosphere of depression, despair, and negativity; they feel downtrodden by elites and the Democratic party. Trump has told them not to give up and has promised that together they will do ‘big things’.
• Trump reminds his followers to have faith in America. He understands that they want change and knows what they respond to viscerally. As an example, the 13 year old with cancer who wants to be a cop pulls on the heartstrings and inflames resentment.

I built a diagram to illustrate the ideas mentioned by David Brooks and Patrick Healy.

How to explain all this? According to David Brooks, “we all need a secure base” which consists primarily of family, home, community, and shared values. Trump has promised the restore that ‘secure base’ for his followers, specifically the working class.

While Trump was busy making promises, Democrats have become the ‘party of elites not the working class’. MAGA republicans don’t feel respected by Democrats and don’t understand their culture. To make matters worse, Democrats got out in front of the general public with policies such as LGBTQ rights, DEI, renewable energy, and they/them pronouns. They did not wait until the general public was ready for such changes or carefully prepare the ground for them.

A compounding factor is that highly educated people – a significant portion Democrats – have created a sort of ‘caste system’ where they are the favoured or upper class. Many republicans feel that democrats look down on them – remember that ‘do you see me now’ caption?

Beyond these internal challenges are those of a changing world order. We’re changing from what many refer to as the ‘liberal world order’ when the walls came down and the world became more integrated to a time when walls are going back up again. Healy and Brooks mentioned: America vs Mexico, America vs Canada, republicans vs democrats. I could add America vs Europe. In other words, isolationism is returning to America’s world view.

Brooks and Healy acknowledge that Trump has identified important issues: ending the war in Ukraine, fixing Gaza, the need to strengthen Europe, the need to reform the federal Government, and the need to fix inflation. But not the right solutions.

The article mentions that “there is a kind of casual cruelty at work” in the way Trump is acting. You only need to consider his actions against Ukraine – the belittling of Zelenskyy, the withdrawal of military support, and the recently stated intent to send all Ukrainians in the US on temporary visas back to a country in the midst of war – to see Trump’s cruelty in action.

Where to from here? The discussion between Brooks and Healy didn’t offer any particular advice – but perhaps their ideas will help provide some understanding for Democrats going forward.

What was missing? Most of the article dealt with the political realm while providing a sympathetic look at the dilemmas that had been facing Trump supporters. Where was the commentary on the slavish-sycophancy of Republican leadership? The enthusiastic endorsement of republican voters for policies like decimating USAID? The support for DOGE and for firing thousands of people? The jeering commentary about Democrats, the lack of empathy, the inability to see any of Trump’s actions as morally wrong? The inability of many republicans to appreciate that there is very different perspective that half the country shares?

As always, I welcome your thoughts. Regular historical fiction posts will return next week. Or you can check out any of the over 1200 other posts on A Writer of History.

For other articles in the ‘writing history’ category, consider:

• An initial look at Project 2025 – ten top objectives stated in Projected 2025
• Weaponize the Justice Department – how other countries have done this to establish autocrats and dictators
• Writing History – a list of frightening objectives– additional objectives of Project 2025 that could change America forever
• All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days – a look at Hitler’s rise to power with a comparison to today

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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.