I know few hard core magats. The ones I do know are relatives in the Midwest

[captain queeg]

Primarily Ohio. Some are otherwise good folks but they share a distorted view of the US history. They grew up in a time of American dominance of the world’s economy and military might, or at least that was their view. They were indoctrinated from young age and didn’t have the perceptive to see that the US situation largely came out of WWII and that it was not sustainable. I really think if we survive the trump years our young people will adjust to the new reality and give up living in the past. At least I hope so.

[CrispyQ]

1. A few years ago a DUer posted that he had been a right winger for a long time, and then...

he travelled. He travelled within & outside of the US & saw different cultures & met different people & he said it completely changed him. I think we need an exchange program in our schools, but instead of an exchange with international students, have an exchange between urban & rural students.

I have a cousin who has gone so far to the right I no longer talk to him. The things he says about dems and liberals is just hateful. I told him once, "I'm a democrat. I'm a liberal. I'm one of those people you hate & despise so much." His response was, "Oh no you're not. You're kind & decent."

[jaysunb]

2. As a black man, I've heard this all my life

" you're not like the rest of them. "
Yeah, right... especially since I'm the only one you know. 😆

[albacore]

3. Not black here...

But have you ever asked them what "the rest of them" are like?

What exactly are their descriptors of black people?

As I say, I'm not black, but I would certainly tell anybody who said that shit to list the way "the rest of them" are... and then promise to be that way at every opportunity in the future.

[Walleye]

4. I was an exchange student between my junior and senior year in high school,lived in Panama

With a family for a semester. It certainly changed me. Up until then I rarely had tried to put myself in somebody else’s culture. Bonus was when I got back my Spanish teacher was completely blown away by my accent and vocabulary.It was the alliance for progress program started under Kennedy. The girl I stayed with came and stayed in our school for a few months. After that I became much more curious about other cultures and tolerant. Also it’s great just to change scenery and see something else in another part of the world.

[SharonAnn]

11. I had a similar experience. My year working in Honduras for a fortune 500 company did it.

In 1981 I worked there for a year. Learned a lot of Spanish and though I was working in an ex=pat environment, I saw and observed many things that made me start to really think about the world outside the United States.
I started to seriously question my previous beliefs which were more due to lack of knowledge than anything else.
It changed my life.

[captain queeg]

5. I think your idea about travel is valid

I grew up in Ohio, don't think I was ever as delusional as these folks are. But I also got out on my own pretty quickly. Even traveling in the US was very eye opening. Don't think I got out of N America till I was in my 20s. But I also continued my education, another factor I think.

[DBoon]

6. passports should be free to every citizen

Passports are not cheap. This is an unnecessary deterrent to international travel.

[jrthin]

7. Not only are passports expensive, so is international

travel.

[maxsolomon]

8. similar boat, westside of cincy

german-irish catholics who rose from the working class after ww2 to retire with great pensions. it worked for them, so what's the problem?

social bubbles, no awareness of how things actually are, even when they drive through the poor black & appalachian neighborhoods they abandoned to flee further out.

they'll all be gone within 10 years.

where i live now? i know one set of trump voters on my street; they said he was "better for israel".

[captain queeg]

9. That's something I've seen with folk back in Ohio

Up till the 80s or so the auto industry support masses of good Union jobs. Those have been gone for a long time but instead of moving on, many think they can return to the old days. Ain’t going to happen. I have a brother in law who retired from GM. Lives close to Lordstown where he worked for 20+ years. TFG dangled the bone of rescuing Lordstown which of course never worked out. But many in that area are still waiting. Hell, property is cheap back there, I’d almost consider returning in retirement if it wasn’t so gawd awful socially.

[Hortensis]

10. Other nations catching up and able to share in the prosperity

and wellbeing of the nations that developed it first is a very GOOD thing. Before Covid, the planetary lifespan was in the late 70s due to better living conditions, food, and healthcare. Those living in what's considered abject poverty had shrunk to around 1%. (!!!)

Most of them wouldn't want to return to the era of enormous, often tragic gaps between "have" nations and "have-nots" if they understood that we're not slipping, we're continuing to advance while others are also.