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| It’s easy to mock Ed Balls in a leotard. But Travels in Trumpland has a point | It’s easy to mock Ed Balls in a leotard. But Travels in Trumpland has a point |
| (2 months later) | |
| “It’s dangerous to start from the assumption that voters are wrong,” says Ed Balls in the trailer for his new BBC2 documentary Travels in Trumpland. The former shadow chancellor’s commitment to “seeing the world through their eyes” lands him in a red leotard, wrestling alongside Trump supporters. | “It’s dangerous to start from the assumption that voters are wrong,” says Ed Balls in the trailer for his new BBC2 documentary Travels in Trumpland. The former shadow chancellor’s commitment to “seeing the world through their eyes” lands him in a red leotard, wrestling alongside Trump supporters. |
| It’s easy to roll our eyes at what promises to be awkward viewing (though perhaps nothing can reach the heady heights of watching the former Strictly Come Dancing star gyrate to Gangnam Style). But if you put aside the theatrics, this is all about listening to people and trying to understand their motivations. And doing so on their turf, not via the artificial set-up of a focus group or opinion poll. | It’s easy to roll our eyes at what promises to be awkward viewing (though perhaps nothing can reach the heady heights of watching the former Strictly Come Dancing star gyrate to Gangnam Style). But if you put aside the theatrics, this is all about listening to people and trying to understand their motivations. And doing so on their turf, not via the artificial set-up of a focus group or opinion poll. |
| “Lots of people will assume Trump voters are going to be deluded and don’t understand, or they are going to be extreme and almost dangerous,” Balls says of his encounters. “But we met nice, ordinary people.” He draws a comparison with feelings towards leave voters held by some remainers in the UK. | “Lots of people will assume Trump voters are going to be deluded and don’t understand, or they are going to be extreme and almost dangerous,” Balls says of his encounters. “But we met nice, ordinary people.” He draws a comparison with feelings towards leave voters held by some remainers in the UK. |
| For many people this will feel like a license fee-funded capitulation. A betrayal. For many, the order of the day is not to listen to those we regard as utterly and unimaginably different and wrong – but to be angry. | For many people this will feel like a license fee-funded capitulation. A betrayal. For many, the order of the day is not to listen to those we regard as utterly and unimaginably different and wrong – but to be angry. |
| At the FrameWorks Institute we seek to find out why people think the things they think. We explore the deep-seated beliefs and assumptions that underpin public opinion on different issues. This involves a lot of listening. Our research affirms that human beings are complicated. Each individual has complex and contradictory ways of thinking about a single issue. And there is more similarity than we think across people who we have come to see has irreconcilably different. | At the FrameWorks Institute we seek to find out why people think the things they think. We explore the deep-seated beliefs and assumptions that underpin public opinion on different issues. This involves a lot of listening. Our research affirms that human beings are complicated. Each individual has complex and contradictory ways of thinking about a single issue. And there is more similarity than we think across people who we have come to see has irreconcilably different. |
| When it comes to attitudes to immigration in the US, for instance, members of the public hold two very dominant conflicting beliefs. “We are a nation of immigrants” competes with the idea that “immigrants are other”. All Americans are capable of thinking in both ways – even immigrants themselves, as Ball’s documentary highlights. While Trump’s immigration narrative feels extreme and his plan to build a wall seems implausible, it succeeds because it plays directly into – and builds on – the idea that immigrants are them, not us. For those fighting for a more compassionate approach to immigration, it’s vital to understand how people think to stand a chance of gaining ground and winning support. | When it comes to attitudes to immigration in the US, for instance, members of the public hold two very dominant conflicting beliefs. “We are a nation of immigrants” competes with the idea that “immigrants are other”. All Americans are capable of thinking in both ways – even immigrants themselves, as Ball’s documentary highlights. While Trump’s immigration narrative feels extreme and his plan to build a wall seems implausible, it succeeds because it plays directly into – and builds on – the idea that immigrants are them, not us. For those fighting for a more compassionate approach to immigration, it’s vital to understand how people think to stand a chance of gaining ground and winning support. |
| All Americans are capable of thinking in both ways – even immigrants themselves, as Ball’s documentary highlights | All Americans are capable of thinking in both ways – even immigrants themselves, as Ball’s documentary highlights |
| In the UK, our research shows that we hold similarly contradictory beliefs on the issue of poverty. We have a tendency to blame an individual for their situation – to see poverty as a sign of personal failure. We are also capable of recognising the factors that are outside someone’s control that impact on their circumstances – the constraining effect of low wages and rising living costs, for instance. Rather than rigidly sticking to a particular ideology and belief system, we move between these perspectives depending on how information is presented. | In the UK, our research shows that we hold similarly contradictory beliefs on the issue of poverty. We have a tendency to blame an individual for their situation – to see poverty as a sign of personal failure. We are also capable of recognising the factors that are outside someone’s control that impact on their circumstances – the constraining effect of low wages and rising living costs, for instance. Rather than rigidly sticking to a particular ideology and belief system, we move between these perspectives depending on how information is presented. |
| Sixty-three million people in the US voted for Trump. In Britain, 17 million voted for Brexit. Ed Balls is right to suggest that this is not a straightforward case of 80 million people being deluded or duped. And any expectations of a mass epiphany are likely to be misguided. Instead we need to go deeper, and understand what’s really going on. | Sixty-three million people in the US voted for Trump. In Britain, 17 million voted for Brexit. Ed Balls is right to suggest that this is not a straightforward case of 80 million people being deluded or duped. And any expectations of a mass epiphany are likely to be misguided. Instead we need to go deeper, and understand what’s really going on. |
| In these divisive times, listening to people who appear to think very differently to us is vital. This can sometimes feel uncomfortable and unsettling. Balls’s show might not get the viewing figures of Strictly. But it is a necessary endeavour, and we should all tune in. | In these divisive times, listening to people who appear to think very differently to us is vital. This can sometimes feel uncomfortable and unsettling. Balls’s show might not get the viewing figures of Strictly. But it is a necessary endeavour, and we should all tune in. |
| • Nicky Hawkins is a communications strategist for the FrameWorks Institute | • Nicky Hawkins is a communications strategist for the FrameWorks Institute |
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