Reflections on Friendship and Political Disenchantment
Recently, I had planned to visit a friend who had just been released from prison. Unfortunately, he had to cancel our meeting to help his sister, who has fallen back into drug use. Meanwhile, another long-time friend reached out, needing a lift because his car had broken down once again. Until he received his next paycheck, he couldn’t afford the $2 bolt necessary for the repair.
As I reflect on these friends and their struggles here in rural Oregon, an area that predominantly supports Donald Trump, I am reminded of the larger questions surrounding the recent political landscape. Many people ask me why America’s working class has distanced itself from the Democratic Party in the recent elections. My neighbors, who grapple with rising rents and manage to buy gas in small increments of five dollars, often view national Democrats as distant elites, more concerned with discussing pronouns than addressing crucial issues like housing.
While post-election analyses have scrutinized Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, the challenges facing the Democratic Party extend far beyond individual candidates. For decades, voters have generally felt a stronger connection to the Democratic Party than to the Republican Party. However, recent polling indicates that more individuals are now identifying with the Republican Party. As we look ahead to the specific Senate seats that will be contested in 2026 and 2028, it becomes increasingly difficult to envision a pathway for the Democrats to regain control of the chamber.
I witness this growing disenchantment with the Democrats in my hometown of Yamhill, a place once reliant on timber, agriculture, and light manufacturing. Over the years, the departure of good union jobs and the arrival of methamphetamine have drastically altered the community. Today, more than a third of the children who used to ride my old No. 6 school bus have tragically lost their lives to drugs, alcohol, suicide, or reckless accidents.
One statistic that stands out starkly is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: blue-collar private-sector workers were actually earning more, on average, in 1972, after adjusting for inflation, than they do today in 2024. This means that today’s blue-collar workers are, on average, earning less in real dollars than their grandparents did 52 years ago.
