There are a few Lefties I talk to about politics occasionally. These people are outgoing, so I get the impression-- either implied, or because they directly tell me so-- that what they articulate to me is not just reflective of their opinion, but of the consensus within their social circle as well. I had just such a conversation within the past few days:

• The conversation was very cordial. This person kept naming specific policies and their positions. I disagreed with every one of these positions, but rather than argue I kept steering things back towards, "How could we get all parties to compromise on the issue?"


• This person can't believe Joe Biden is running again. It was interesting to hear that Leftists are now just as astonished by his obvious senility as people on the Right are.


• This person is all-in on Cultural Marxism, climate change, and all the rest. Even with that said, this individual thinks we need to drill down to the exact, underlying reasons why people hold the views they do. This was interesting for me to hear, because it was an open admission that there is a vector for peaceful compromise.


• Taking that as a segue, I explained the basic background behind Jonathan Haidt's "Moral Foundations" research, how that could help us all understand each other better. It was easy to get this person to a position where they would accept negotiation even on issues they found existential, like climate change, abortion, and gun control


• In that same vein, we both agreed that there is the possibility of getting all factions together in a way that each faction gets one thing they want but no more-- the compromise won't be perfect, but everyone can walk away feeling like they can at least co-exist with one another.


• They sent me a link to a video they liked, with a comical monologue explaining what was wrong in the world. There was an almost shocking amount of overlap between the Millennial Leftist understanding of the world in 2023 and what I perceive to be the root problems. For instance, the video referenced things like the "wealthy pedophile class" running the world.


• They agreed with me that "Occupy Wallstreet" was too close to the bulls eye for the elites to handle. They also agreed with me that ninety percent of things people are bickering about are deliberate distractions put in place by the elite, to divide and conquer. This was no small admission by this person, and it caught me off guard.


• I explained the basic premise of The Fourth Turning, how everything we see has been seen before. It may seem hopeless now, but we'll get through it somehow, with a hopefully brighter future on the other side. They were amenable to this outlook.

I ended the conversation with a link to the "Rich Man's Trick" documentary, I'll see what they make of that. In general, the conversation was a little eye-opening for me, because it signaled a marked shift in the Millennial Leftist's world view. Just a few years ago, this crowd-- and it is an enormous voting bloc-- was all-in on defending "the establishment". They held ironclad to Thomas Sowell's "unconstrained vision". I saw it everywhere.

But now more than anything I'm sensing enormous fatigue from them. Young Lefties at the time were eager and energized by Obama. Young Leftists of a few years ago came out en masse for Joe Biden. But what this person told me is that far from being excited or energized for the 2024 election, they are terrified of it, no matter what the outcome is. Prior enthusiasm has morphed into despondency and despair.

They are getting worn down. And I think, worn down to the point where they want to negotiate, compromise, and just have us move on as a country. This is a very good sign. Now it's the Right who are justifiably militant, from having been pushed around the past several years. Once that phase passes, there is the real possibility of a reconciliation.