Something happens as you travel along I-90 and cross the border between Minnesota and South Dakota: the landscape changes, that is, the political landscape. It is amazing to me that in a blink of an eye, or the crossing of a border, attitudes change dramatically. Suddenly, people are vocal in their disparagement of President Biden. They actually like South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who seems to be vying for the position of Vice President to Donald Trump. People like guns. And people turn up their noses at the “socialist” governor of Minnesota. Now, I realize I am making a very broad generalization, and those South Dakotans who consider themselves “liberals” would beg to differ. They would say not everyone in South Dakota is conservative. Not everyone believes Donald Trump is a good guy. (And let me acknowledge there are many Republicans who also do not think Donald Trump is a good guy). But still, these liberals would not disagree when I say that Democrats are few and far between in this state. They sigh and tell me it wasn’t always this way. After all, South Dakota was the home of Senators Tom Daschle and George McGovern. Things have changed.
What all this means is that I am no longer comfortable stating what is obvious to me, like Trump is downright dangerous. Or that we might want to consider letting women control their own bodies. Or that gay people are … well, people. That people of color face discrimination. What I felt free to say in Minnesota, I often find I keep buttoned up in South Dakota. I just do not want to deal with discord in the new conversations I am having. Which is a stressful state of being.
I know, I know, we should be able to talk freely when we disagree. It’s just that in this time of political strife across our nation, in this time of MAGA, I just cannot seem to do it. Right now, we just do not seem to be able to disagree with kindness. So, I avoid it.
But, last week, two examples of JOY – opportunities to stop holding my tongue, at least for a while.
First, a meeting of the Sioux Falls chapter of the League of Women Voters. The LWV is in fact proud to say they are a non-partisan group. They are vested in protecting and expanding voting rights. So, although they would not say they have a liberal perspective, it was downright refreshing to hear their official stance against the banning of books, along with other issues that are important to me. I felt comfortable there.
Then, later in the week, John and I went to the “Minnehaha Democratic Forum”, which meets every Friday. The person who told me about this group advised that we should go to the address she gave me, and enter through the back door. Indeed, we had to circle around and enter through the back door. John said, “I feel like we are going to a speakeasy”. I knew exactly what he meant. I almost expected a secret knock would be required. Once inside, we were directed to a basement meeting room, filled with fellow Democrats. My goodness, whoever would have believed that the Democratic Party, the party of George McGovern, had been reduced to meeting in a musty basement? But there we were, and weren’t we happy to be there? People freely talked about the issues we care about. And although I didn’t speak, I felt I could breathe easier, and, if I had wanted to, I could turn to the person next to me and share my view about immigrant rights without a look of puzzlement or disdain in return.
So, this week’s joy: finding a few, a very few, like-minded citizens in this bastion of conservatism. I pray that someday I can feel comfortable talking to others with whom I disagree – it just seems that right now the times are just too fraught. Until then, I’ll continue to show up at the back door every Friday afternoon.