Listening is Hard

Politicians need to learn how to do it better

My husband and I lived in Wisconsin, a very purple state. Born and raised in Wisconsin I lived there pretty much all my life, and Alan, for more than 40 years. Alan is a transplant from Northern Virginia. We moved to Virginia three and half years ago and now we are on the move to Arkansas to be near my daughter and her small family.

Up until 2011 we were involved in politics via the Sierra Club, contacting our state legislators, federal congress people and senators about environmental issues. We met a lot of them in person in their offices in capitol buildings. This was the extent of our political involvement, except for regular voting,

Then, in November 2010, Scott Walker, associated with the Tea Party politics was elected Governor of Wisconsin and Act 10 was enacted the very first thing in 2011. As a result, a huge, long-lasting protest broke out in Madison, Wisconsin. We joined in as progressive Democrats marching around in cold and snow.

Suddenly, we were caught up in something much larger than ourselves, emotionally involved as we knew a lot of people in the teaching profession, they too became politically active at this time.

Walker and his supporters were not hearing the enormous outcry, they were firmly in their silo. They were not listening and Wisconsin is still paying the price in the educational system.

Alan and I joined our local county Democratic Party and got more and more involved. Eventually, I decided to run for political office. I had several tries at the Wisconsin State Assembly. I didn’t win any of my attempts, but that was not half the point for me. One of my goals was to give one side of the voting public someone to vote for. At times, no one on the Democratic side would run. The district was gerrymandered. There really was no way I could win.

This is how I come to see today’s issues, through my lens of imperfect campaigning according to the Democratic Party. The Party that had thought they had the rulebook of which I was constantly breaking rules. One key factor that was missing from their rulebook until too late was something I had been doing all along, speak to almost EVERYONE. I was told I was wasting my valuable door knocking time by going to all doors unless they clearly had the sign of my opponent.

Volunteers, sometimes supplied by the County Party in association with other candidates, walked with papers drawn by the County Party for ‘safe’ doors. Turns out this year, I heard the Democratic Party went to every door! A little too late in my opinion. A large error. They did not want to hear anyone who may have even a slight opposition. Again the listening thing.

I always thought that I never knew who was behind the door without a clear signal like a sign in the yard for the opposing candidate. There are a lot of voters fed up who are on the voter roll but have given up voting for a time. I very much wanted to reach those people. When I spoke with voters I listened to them more than I talked with them, a lot of people are very jaded and defeated with politics. They are desperate to be heard and spill their guts with their frustrations.

So, it goes today. I still want to reach those people, But with a twist now. Now, I want to speak to those same people behind the door, but I also want to speak with people who voted for Donald Trump. Only by getting to speak with each other and developing relationships can we fix government sensibly.

People vote the way they do, not because they are evil but because they are trying to say something. Casting a vote is speaking. People need to be heard.

Politicians so often talk but do not really listen.

Listening is hard work. Not interjecting thoughts while someone else is speaking is hard work, sitting tight and not being distracted by formulating what you are going to say next is difficult. I learned these skills while employed many years working in customer service jobs.

Yes, what many people think of low on the pay scale jobs and not the type of person who should be qualified for a political office. They are low on the pay scale, but those jobs taught me one of the most valuable skills I possess. How to listen, and then how to act in the best interests of someone else. I worked years in healthcare-related call centers.

I always wanted to make the customer call to me a one-stop shop. I did not want the customer to need to call back with the same problem and get someone else. That involved me listening to their issues, saying it back to them as I understood the problem, and then figuring out a solution. Sometimes there was no solution, and I had to break the bad news. But you know, after treating people like human beings, listening to their needs and then coming back with a “No, I cannot help you, this is not possible” those same people who may have been upset to begin with were more able to accept a negative outcome if I was really engaged with them. Politicians could learn something from lowly experiences such as this.

In the end, I feel we need to drawn upon different types of people than we have for so many years to populate our government in the way of elected positions. We sure do need to vet them as to whether they know how to listen, really listen.