Representative Vance Aloupis, Jr.: Finding Common Ground on Political Issues, Florida

In early 2020 (just weeks before the pandemic), Smithsonian staff and their storytelling partners at the Peale, Baltimore, traveled to multiple states in the U.S. to ask residents of those states about voting experiences, the current state of American democracy, what issues brought them to the polls, how they made a difference in their communities, and what Americans' civic responsibilities were, among other complex questions.

Representative Vance Aloupis, Jr.: (00:01) As I indicated before, my district, I think is very representative of Miami as a whole. There's, as I said, real affluence in certain communities, real poverty in others, demographically is fairly consistent with what you would see in Miami. And I would say a couple of things. Obviously, the one issue that binds Miami together is traffic. And any politician that tells you that they have the solution to it is lying to you.

(00:26) It's really a cultural change to transportation, I think, it's going to require so many more variables than just new roads and new highways. People are worried about the cost of living, affordable housing, healthcare. They're worried about the quality of their children's education. And people come at these issues from different places. One of the things that I think is so encouraging about, the process in Tallahassee is that on most issues, not all, but most issues, our goals are the same.

(00:55) We all believe that every child, regardless of where you live, should have a high-quality education, that it shouldn't be limited to children in certain zip codes. I think we can all agree to that. And if you can't, then you have no business serving in office. Now, the path to that great education, I think, there are differences in opinion. And the metaphor that I oftentimes use is that; if you and I are going to Hawaii, you may fly through Dallas, and I may fly through LAX, but we're still both going to Hawaii. And the question that is before us is trying to figure out, where's the common ground? What are the issues that we can agree upon, and those issues that we don't agree upon? How do we work together and what makes the most sense for each of our constituents? But I would say, and I don't know if it's an issue, but I think the one thing that really binds together a lot of my district, and I imagine it binds together a lot of voters, is really a frustration with the divisiveness of politics and how far we've fallen.

(01:51) It's okay to disagree. It's not okay to have contempt for other people because they disagree with you on a position. It's unhealthy. And in spite of the fact that you are running in a partisan race, you are a Republican or you are a Democrat. I have found that everybody that I talk to, two things, very few people fall fully in the line of a party agenda. Very few people are a hundred percent Republican or a hundred percent Democrat. They may be more progressive on this issue, but more conservative on this issue, which to me says, more and more people are in the middle. I think you're seeing that in terms of voter registration. A lot more people are saying, "I don't want to align myself with either party. I want to be an independent."

(02:31) And then beyond that, I think it speaks more to the culture. People are really sick of a lot of, I think, the toxicity of what you're seeing creep into politics. And again, I'm one person at the very bottom of the totem pole in one state chamber. All I can do is try and be the best example that I can be for my colleagues and for my constituents, and serve in a capacity that I believe would make myself proud as a constituent that I would be proud of the service that I've presented.

(03:02) One, I would say, in our chamber, in our body, and I'm not speaking for DC, I'm not speaking for the Florida Senate or any other state legislature, I have been remarkably encouraged by the camaraderie in our chamber, across party lines. You can have a very robust conversation about a piece of policy, and you can disagree strongly. But in our chamber, what I have seen is that the vast majority of people, not everybody, but the vast majority of people, can separate politics from the person. And at the end of the day, truly believe that the other person has the best interest of their constituents in mind. And what I think was so remarkable, for me in my first year was, you watch television, you hear the nastiness, you hear the divisiveness. And I can remember some of the very controversial issues that were brought before us, and people arguing for hours upon hours on the floor of the house. And really passionate testimony.

(04:04) And when it's all said and done, and everybody votes and the issue is behind you, people could go to, there's an area behind the chamber, sort of a lounge area, and people would go in the back and they would talk about their family, and they'd talk about their work, and they'd talk about the next bill up. The ability to acknowledge that somebody else can be both thoughtful, well intentioned and goodhearted but disagree with you on issue is an important thing to remember. And I have to hope that we can get beyond, because, I would say this, the country's always been divided. There've been moments in our country's history where, like a got Civil War. Vietnam; you can look at many instances in the history of this country where we have been divided as a nation. What concerns me so much now, I believe is, and Arthur Brooks at AEI talks about this, the contempt that's injected itself into this process, this idea that, it's not only that I disagree with you, it's that you're seeking to harm me, you're seeking to do evil. It's not healthy.

(05:04) And I fundamentally believe the only way you can change that, it's going to be evolutionary because it's already set in. It's perpetuated by social media, the news, the fact that we only watch what reinforces our own individual beliefs. The social media is curated in a way that we get to see what we already believe. It's going to require people stepping outside of their comfort zones, thinking about issues differently. And it's honestly going to require, if you're truly a public servant, you have the blessing of being an elective office, understand that your responsibility is to be a role model. It's not just the policies that you're bringing forward. It's, are you doing a good job of representing the principles and the morals that you believe are inherent in our democracy? And I would say right now, at all levels of government there are people that absolutely do not meet that standard. And I believe that that is perhaps the greatest cancer in our democracy.

Asset ID: 2022.35.03.a-b
Themes: Traffic, affordable housing, education, bipartisanship, collaboration, cooperation, polarization, service, political parties, optimism, historical precedent, contempt
Date recorded: January 9, 2020
Length of recording: 0:06:03
Related traveling exhibition: Voices and Votes: Democracy in America
Sponsor or affiliated organization: Haitian Heritage Museum in conjunction with Florida Humanities
More information or related assets: https://www.haitianheritagemuseum.org/voices-and-votes-democracy-in-america/