1 day Ago By Zara Terrazas-Graham, Contributing Writer
I voted blue. I didn’t vote for the economy, I didn’t vote just because our nominee was a woman, I didn’t vote for the job market and I didn’t vote because my groceries have gotten more expensive. I voted blue because I felt I had a moral obligation to do so.
I voted for a party that supports a woman’s right to bodily autonomy, a party that believes you can love who you choose, a party that supports education, a party that wants to protect children from gun violence, a party that believes in climate change. All of these things are part of what builds the foundation of what I consider to be “correct.” I have the incredible privilege to get a college education, I get to delight in studying ethics, economy, politics, culture and, most importantly, I have the time to apply my growing knowledge to whomever I vote for.
But unfortunately, not everyone gets this opportunity. Even in the face of loss, Democrats proudly display data that proves their voters are highly educated. It is true that since the 1960’s, the Democratic Party has aligned itself with the white collar, highly educated and affluent Americans.
The states that are ranked highest in education in the United States reliably vote blue. The three most highly educated states, based on percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or higher, Massachusetts, Colorado and Maryland , have consistently supported the Democratic Party. We can take pride in knowing blue voters are educated and, therefore, we assume, more intelligent.
But we Democrats have forgotten a key group: the majority. Only about 46.5% of American adults hold a college-level degree.
That means over half of the population is likely feeling disparaged and, perhaps, disregarded by the Democratic Party. Yes, facts are on our side. We know that President-elect Donald Trump’s economic plans only benefit a wealthy and privileged minority of Americans, there is evidence to prove that states with abortion bans have much higher maternal death rates and we are absolutely certain that Trump’s proposed tariffs will hurt the American economy and likely raise inflation by two percentage points .
As much as we can argue that our policies are better, our voters are smarter and our candidate is not a twice impeached, 34-time felony convicted rapist, it doesn’t change the fact that we have not connected with the majority of Americans. Democrats are being increasingly perceived as elite, upper-class yuppies who have the time to worry about trivial problems such as abortion, LGBTQ+ rights and the environment. I have certainly found myself standing on moral high ground when it comes to politics.
I cannot fathom voting for a man who so blatantly disregards issues I consider to be essential to an ethical society. At the same time, I am aware of the fact that I have the privilege to consider ideas such as ethics and fairness, rather than the day-to-day worry of putting food on the table or paying rent. Trump was able to engage with blue-collar workers by identifying with their rage and resentment around being disregarded and left out.
Not because he identifies with them regarding their status, or lack thereof, but because he gives a voice to their anger. I believe this is because of his targeted labeling of educated people as the “other,” fueling the anger of the working class. Put simply, his use of anti-intellectualism.
What began as a critique of wealthy elites, has turned into a predominately far-right tactic used to control less educated voters. Trump’s systematic undermining of science and education has created a false distrust of the educated. For instance, when asked about the growing number of wildfires in California he responded with, “It’ll start getting cooler, you just watch.
” When the interviewer responded with “I wish science agreed with you” he was quick to say “I don’t think science knows actually.” Similarly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump White House deliberately undermined pandemic response resulting in needless death. The Trump administration repeatedly blocked requests from the CDC to conduct public briefings about the pandemic for over three months.
He also called health officials “idiots” and continually attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, stating, “ Fauci is a disaster. If I listened to him, we’d have 500,000 deaths.
” Not only did he villainize health officials, but in his campaign for the 2020 election, he tried to dissuade voters from picking President Joe Biden by threatening that if elected, Biden would “ listen to the scientists .” While some may question the effectiveness or perhaps the conscious use of these tactics, it is understandable that voters who feel ignored by the notoriously educated Democratic party would welcome a reason to undermine the validity of their precious information. “I love the poorly educated,” Trump said at a rally in Nevada.
Even his chosen defense secretary, Pete Hagseth, caters to the poorly educated, saying , “the more elite the university and more advanced a graduate is, the dumber they are.” The critique of intellectualism successfully resonated with the majority of voters without a college degree. Though unfortunately, we know the lower class will bear the weight of Trump’s economic policies.
Not only does Trump voice the grievances of Americans without a degree, but his campaign also spent more time addressing the problems that affect them the most. The average American does not have the time or the resources to consider the merit of a candidate’s policies about things that do not directly affect them. Educated and affluent citizens have the time to evaluate the ethical implications of each decision, whereas working-class Americans are left struggling just to make ends meet.
Unwittingly, by becoming a party that proudly supports higher education and the nuances of policy, Democrats have ostracized, if even unintentionally, a majority of the country, despite being the party that can help them the most. Zara Terrazas-Graham, FCRH ’26, is an English major from Austin, Texas..
