In my Seattle voting precinct, there have been precisely zero votes solid for former President Donald Trump within the 2020 election. There would have been two votes for the man within the White Home if a pair of my informal mates simply over the hill had not moved to Montana a yr earlier than as a result of they had been weary of dwelling in political isolation.
In that feeling, the conservative couple will not be distinctive amongst of us who lean to the best on this metropolis and this state. My colleague, Danny Westneat, lately took a glance at Idaho migration statistics and located Republicans far outnumber Democrats amongst latest transplants from Washington. This imbalance is so dramatic that it’s laborious to clarify some other manner than to acknowledge politics as a driver behind lots of of relocations. The truth is, Westneat discovered there are actual property corporations in Idaho that particularly market to conservatives, urging them to flee Washington’s liberal “hell gap” and transfer to a spot that celebrates God, weapons and small authorities.
This phenomenon shouldn’t be distinctive to Washington and Idaho. Everywhere in the nation, there are folks pulling up stakes and getting out of Dodge as a result of they don’t like dwelling in a spot the place their neighbors don’t share their political beliefs. And it’s not simply conservatives abandoning blue states — there’s additionally proof of liberals fleeing from purple states to search out extra congenial, progressive communities.
This sorting has been occurring at some degree ever since our political life began to turn out to be so nasty, illiberal and polarized. Evidently, now, the bodily separation is accelerating. Cities and close by suburbs are more and more liberal, whereas exurbs and small cities are extra right-wing than ever. And Individuals are forgetting find out how to discuss to 1 one other until everybody within the room — or the neighborhood or the school campus — sees issues precisely the identical manner.
There was once an previous, conservative gentleman who lived simply across the block from me. He would drive by my home from time to time in his massive pickup truck and, if I occurred to be exterior, he would harangue me about my political cartoons. The man had a humorousness about it, although, and, when I didn’t reply with anger, however with fun and a smile, we at all times parted amicably. We weren’t precisely mates, however we received alongside, and we had been definitely not enemies.
The previous man died a few years in the past and I form of miss him — identical to I miss the times when American politics was a debate amongst mates, not Armageddon.
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