This is Buttigieg's communication superpower. We don't need him to be VP, but he needs to be a BIG part of this campaign. https://the.ink/p/free-pete-buttigieg-bridges-communication
Why is it so hard for Democrats to explain things in a certain language? I'm not asking you to put down anybody else, but can you talk a little bit about your philosophy of communication? You do seem to come at it just differently from lots of people in your world. You come from a different background in multiple ways than maybe lots of your colleagues. Again, not putting anybody else down, but what is your philosophy of communication when it comes to reaching other people, tapping into other people's moral frames, being able to be kind of hearable to people while also insisting on your truths? Tell me a little bit about your philosophy of communication.
I was raised with more progressive values in a very conservative place. I was very different from a lot of the people around me. And I think when you're around when you stick out, when you're different, there's different ways you can approach that. One is to just conform. I couldn't do that. I couldn't just conform to values or styles that weren't me. Another is to kind of do the opposite, to just kind of rage against all the things that you don't align with.
But another is to figure out how you can engage people. Often, I think about, honestly, sometimes I even think about this with media folks on the right that I might be in an appearance with, like a somewhat hostile interviewer. And I just think about the guy at the end of the bar in South Bend, Indiana who I don't just know but like, who also has political views that I find horrifying. How would I talk to him? How did I talk to him? I mean, this is not a hypothetical. And it's different if you imagine liking and caring for the people you're talking to. It doesn't mean you're always going to get through to them, but it begins to give you the terms to meet people where they are without pretending to be like them more than you are.
And it turns out people also respect that. We all know from a mile away when someone is insincerely trying to clothe themselves in our values or our style in order to appeal to us, right? And young people in particular have a nose for that, but we all do. Sometimes you get more respect from somebody who you still haven't won over in terms of convincing them that they were wrong and you're right, but maybe moved them an inch because they saw why you believe what you believe. And if you just explain what you believe in terms that make sense to you and could make sense to them, they can see it. They can feel it. I think there's something really powerful in that.