“If you vote for them… you are simply uneducated”
Following the election, I watched as this phrase swarmed discussions about the results. Once spoken, it brought all conversations to an immediate halt. After all, there is no need for debate when you decide you have already won. This accusation serves as a ‘get out of jail free card’—there is no need to reflect on our beliefs or even wonder where the opposing side is coming from if we are convinced that we are fundamentally better. The problem then lies in the fact that not only is this view elitist, but it is simply not true, which is why claiming this only deepens the country’s divide.
For starters, education goes beyond formal schooling. The election map that compares college graduates with electoral results is used as an argument in itself. Their logic is as follows: a college degree is seen as a measure of education and proof of superior reasoning. Places with the highest number of college graduates vote democratic. Therefore, the democratic party stands for the best values and policies. This, however, is fundamentally flawed.
The decision to attend college encompasses social, economic, and personal reasons that cannot be reduced to a desire for education or the lack thereof. While college can be a significant pathway to learning and exposure to information, it can also be a space where “similarly wealthy people with like-minded ideas get together to decide how the world is” (Tara). So why is it assumed that college graduates inherently understand the struggles of the American people?
If Democrats aim to connect with the demographics their policies claim to support, they must move away from framing education as the ultimate measure of reasoning or worth.
When a college degree is used as the sole baseline to assess someone’s reasoning abilities, millions of Americans with diverse life experiences are immediately discredited. Economic privilege is deeply intertwined with accessibility to higher education. As a result, a college degree can sometimes serve as a marker of privilege rather than intellectual merit. For this reason, if Democrats aim to connect with the demographics their policies claim to support, they must move away from framing education as the ultimate measure of reasoning or worth.
Additionally, many hold the belief that if the opposing party were properly informed, they would choose not to vote for their candidate. This, however, ignores the fact that Democrats and Republicans consume different media sources, leading to vastly different premises they hold as truths, inevitably resulting in the disparity between both parties’ platforms.
This phenomenon can be explained by belief polarization and echo chambers. Belief polarization occurs when interactions amongst those who share common views end up with parties becoming more extreme versions of themselves. Republicans are 23% more likely to turn to Fox News, yet Democrats are 23% more likely to favor CNN (Zink). The lack of dissenting opinions along with constantly receiving affirming information logically leads to people growing more steadfast in their beliefs.
Deeming most of the country as lesser impedes the necessary changes the DNC must undergo.
It’s not that the opposing party is uninformed—after all, everyone is inundated with warnings about the dangers posed by the opposing candidate. But therein lies the issue: we are all hearing it, we are all biased. Additionally, the lack of proper fact check filters, and the abundance of fake news have vastly contributed to this phenomenon. After all, we do not have the time to check other sources or corroborate the information we are being bombarded hourly. We assume that the information we are consuming is the truth, and if it resonates with what we believe, even better. It is also no secret that humans are innately prone to unconsciously remember information that resonates with them, which is why likeminded news sources seem all more appealing.
Consequently, labeling the opposing party as uneducated often reflects our own susceptibility to misinformation, because we are actively receiving information that condemns them, while we get to believe we are right. Bias and misinformation are not products of a lack of education; they are hallmarks of the modern information age. While it is our responsibility to address and combat these biases, it is not our place to attack others for being subject to the same forces that influence us all.
The phrase “if you voted for them, you’re uneducated” does not account for the current realities that this country is facing. Beyond the elitism of equating college degrees with superior reasoning and the differing conclusions drawn from diverse media sources, this phrase also kills any chance of progress. More than 90% of counties that switched their party this election did so towards the Republican party, which cannot be excused by lack of education. If the Democrats stick with this narrative, they are stopping the party from having insightful conversations about the reasoning behind Republican voters. Deeming most of the country as lesser impedes the necessary changes the DNC must undergo. This mentality ultimately harms Democrats more than it could ever insult Republicans.
Francisca Ustariz Giraldo ‘28 studies in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at f.ustarizgiraldo@wustl.edu.