Democrats Have Forgotten The Human Factor

Twenty years ago Max Brooks released "World War Z" and it took the world by storm, eventually becoming a major motion picture starring Brad Pitt. I'm not usually one for following the hype, but I love zombies so I picked the book up, unaware that Max is the son of illustrious writer, director, actor, and human, Mel Brooks. Yes, that Mel Brooks.

In the acknowledgment of World War Z, Max thanks his dad, stating that his father reminded him not to forget, "the human factor." The book focuses on the events of a global pandemic that turns people into zombies, and unlike other zombie books, it's approach is less about jumpscares and more about the facts. It explores the different layers to how a worldwide zombie apocalypse could happen, how politics plays a part, and it gets deep into the nitty gritty details of this terrible explosion of illness.

But, Mel reminded his son that at the core of this story is the people. "..the human factor." "Don't forget the human factor." Don't forget that the stories of the people living in this time matter.

This is a lesson today's Democratic Party has forgotten. And we are paying dearly for it.

As a Democratic volunteer I've had the immense privilege of seeing behind-the-scenes of Democratic candidate's campaigns, local Democratic Executive Committees, and local Democratic Caucuses, and something they all have in common is a heavy reliance upon data.

Everything is data. And statistics. And numbers. The approach to reaching voters is clinical, formulaic, and to be perfectly frank, cold. When phone-banking or canvassing we're given a script and a time limit. "Get off the phone in a minute. Don't waste time talking. Don't stay too long. Don't engage." They tell me it's because it is more efficient to hit as many houses/phone lines as possible, so they forgo authentic connections in favor of numbers.

Democrats have shifted all their focus and their political ideology to a numbers game, and the results have been devastating. Because people aren't data. They're people. And they can tell when you only see them as data.

Right now Democracy and Democratic values are losing. On the Left and the Right people do not feel heard or valued. So they don't care to show up to vote, or volunteer, or build communities. When someone calls you and reads a script off to you, it doesn't feel good. It makes you feel like you're just another number on a screen and not an actual human. How can we expect humanity from our fellow humans if we refuse to treat them with the care and compassion they deserve? How can we ask them to believe in us or our Democratic candidates, when we'd rather play a numbers game than build relationships?

A hard-to-swallow truth is this: Republicans peddle fear and hate, so they don't have to build relationships. They don't have to care about their fellow man or spend time getting to know their constituents. As Democrats we're supposed to be the party that actually gives a damn...but we don't act like it. And it shows.

If you want people to show up to vote, you have to be willing to stand out in the hot sun talking to them about the endangered gopher turtle in their front yard and their new azalea bush. Sure, that has nothing to do with politics, but it has a lot to do with people.

If you want people to volunteer to phone-bank or canvass, you have to be willing to get to know them. What are their kids' names? What do they do for a living? How long have they been married? Are their parents still living? Do they have any current health issues? What's going on in their lives?

If you cannot answer those questions, how the hell do you expect them to drop everything in their lives to show up to volunteer or vote for you/your candidate?

Humans. Aren't. Just. Numbers.

And as long as Democrats keep playing the numbers game, we will continue to lose. People don't want to be a statistic. They want to know they actually matter to their candidates and to their community leaders. If you're not interested in taking the time to sit down, have a glass of sweet tea, and talk to someone about their mama's nursing home costs and their cat's vet bills, then you don't really want to serve. You just want to be in charge.

And they (we) can tell.

Democrats have to remember the human factor. Until they do, nothing is going to change. And nothing is going to get better. For any of us.