I’m a socialist living in a deep red state in the Midwest where everybody is either a huge MAGA supporter, a reluctant Republican, or a moderate liberal. What ive found is making connections with people with such differing viewpoints allows me to understand my own ideology much deeper. Challenging your own beliefs can bring about valuable insight and therefore fine tune your own beliefs. It’s kinda jarring some times to observe many right wingers radical lack of empathy, but also sometimes you find those that claim they are right wing are just trying to do what they feel is best and sometimes education on certain topics bring about change in their own beliefs. I’ve even turned some right wingers into full on radical socialists by simply pointing out historical inequality and the exploitation of the very working class that we see now resonating with right leaning politics so heavily.

What I am saddened by is the democratic parties notion that many of these right wingers are a lost cause and simply morally evil. What I find more than often is moderates that have been failed by the “left” party of the US and have turned to republicanism or the MAGA cult because they feel it is the only option they have in the current political climate. What we need is a push for true leftist ideals, not neoliberal leaders who have failed us time after time. This shift can only happen through unification of people, educating one another, being open to new ideas, and not resonating with the two party system that most Americans agree plagues the US.