Nichols is not the only one. On MSNBCDr. Amanda Calhoun, chief psychiatry resident at Yale University told viewers they should feel justified in cutting ties with their Trump supporters. family members. In fact, she informed viewers that such a decision “could be essential for your mental health.”

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But instead of demonizing or ostracizing loved ones who voted for President-elect Donald Trump, those of us who didn’t vote for him should listen to them and try to understand their perspective.

Many leftists have been living in a state of advanced terror since the elections. THE New York Post reports: “New York City liberals, shocked and disturbed by President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory, are flooding the inboxes of shrinks looking for appointments.” Author Jill Filipovic identified the source of the terror when she wrote“(H)his election was not an indictment of Kamala Harris. It was an indictment of America.

But this terror is a form of self-torture. When we think that half the country is made up of bad guys and white supremacists, we become paranoid. Fear saps our energy and joy in the world, leaving us constantly angry and on edge. It takes us away from the present moment and plunges us into a horror film populated by an endless parade of bogeymen out to get us. This is no way to live.

But if those of us who didn’t vote for Trump went out and talked to our loved ones who support Trump, we wouldn’t find any bogeymen. Instead of white supremacists, we would find a broad-based, multi-ethnic coalition: Trump I just won 55% of white voters, as well as 45% of Hispanic voters and 65% of Native American voters. Instead of the monsters who supported Trump’s most inflammatory comments, we would find voters who simply want an economy that works (Trump won 86% of voters who said the economy was “bad”).

Trump’s coalition looks less like the KKK and more like the kind of multi-ethnic, working-class coalition that Democrats have always tried to attract. Recognizing this might force us to rethink our priorities. It could also offer us profound relief from our fear. Leaving aside the question of whether the Orange Man is evil or not, it is surely only good news to discover that most of his followers are not.

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Another reason leftists should listen to Trump supporters is that he has appealed to many marginalized people. Asset won 63% of voters have never attended college. He won 80 percent of voters who ranked “the economy” as their most important issue, in part because many of these people are struggling. Among voters who said inflation had caused “serious hardship” to their families, he won 74 percent of the vote. Many of Trump’s voters are the kind of struggling and disenfranchised Americans that the left once prided itself on helping. Listening to these voters, rather than demonizing them, would represent a return to the roots of the left.

If leftists want to understand those who voted for Trump, a great way to start is to Braver angelsa national nonprofit focused on reducing toxic polarization. Among other offers, it establishes 1:1 conversations between liberals and conservatives so that each side can better understand the other. In these difficult times, such conversations could be a powerful antidote to growing terror.

Julian Adorney is the founder of Healing the Westa Substack movement dedicated to combating illiberalism through spiritual formation and rebuilding the American community. He is a member of the Braver Angels media team.