Anger vs. Hope: In One Glance

By Shlomo Maital  

REPUBLICAN ‘VIBES’

BEFORE BIDEN LEFT              AFTER

DEMOCRAT ‘VIBES’

BEFORE BIDEN LEFT          AFTER

                Today, Tuesday, is election day in the US.  Unlike in many countries, elections held on the first Tuesday of November are not held on weekends, when people are largely off work,  nor are they days when businesses and workplaces are closed, to facilitate voting.  This in part is why some 80 million Amerians have already voted, in early balloting.

                   Writing in the New York Times, Michelle Cottle supplies a rare insight into the election.  With a talented graphics artist, she has canvassed voter emotions, Dems and Republicans, and graphed them.  (See above).

                    The dominant emotion for Republicans is shown in red —  ANGER.  And since we know behavior is largely driven by our limbic brains, by emotions,  this is crucial in understanding their support of Trump, who hourly feeds that anger, that grievance.

                     The dominant emotion among Democrats is the yellow – HOPEFUL  It is the theme Kamala has driven, almost obsessively, and represents a huge shift in strategy from Biden, who messaged about the Trump threat —  hate the haters.

                     A picture does convey a thousand words.  Think about those two pictures above.  Hope vs. Hate. 

                     I am a dual Israeli-Canadian citizen.  None of my business, right?  But – this election will decide the fate of the world, and to an extent my country. Let’s hope Hope triumphs.   Let hope trump Trump and hate.