Mike Rawlings: Our politics is all about the Special People now

There are two types of people in America: Regular Folk and Special People. The great news about our country is that we take in all comers and there is room for both. But it’s important to understand what makes them different.
Regular Folk are simple but not simpletons. She is trying to live her one terrific life in a complicated multi-rule-based ethical world. She doesn’t have the time or the energy to change the world; in fact she doesn’t expect much, but does appreciate those who make her town and country just a little bit better.
She doesn’t whine, but she does say thank you. Her biggest challenge is getting her kids to school with homework done amid her anxiety of worrying that they will be safe.
Also, he is gay, but you will more than likely see him and his partner sitting in a welcoming congregation’s church pew than on a float of a pride parade.
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He is white and skipped that college part of his life and went right to the hard knocks part. No one would ever call him racist, but he feels hurt deep inside when he is told he has some kind of privilege. His life has been a bitch of a country song, and he doesn’t feel he’s gotten many breaks.
She’s Black and remembers how it was when she grew up and tells her daughter how much better they have it today, just like all parents do. She will do anything in her power to make sure that her daughter doesn’t have to live through the grief that her mama and daddy got. She’s not angry, and she’s kind of quiet, too.
He is too old to play softball but still does and has a friend who wears a MAGA hat and is a gun nut. He thinks his friend is half crazy but loves him like a brother because they go way back and he would do anything for him. He doesn’t fight with him either. It’s useless and some of his rants don’t make sense.
He is a union man. His dad was too. He coaches a YMCA basketball league. He teaches his boys about the importance of team first and is a great role model for younger Black men coming into fatherhood. He’s open-minded but doesn’t quite understand this whole “trans” thing. But he never says a word. He Backs the Blue.
She is a second-generation Latina who owns her own business and doesn’t do well at that work-life balance thing. While most of her employees came from Mexico and Guatemala, she believes enough is enough with letting more and more freely come across the southern border.
She would love to make a hundred grand a year, but that probably isn’t going to happen. She had an abortion once, but she is Catholic and feels that life begins at conception. She has forgiven herself for what happened and believes it’s not her place to judge other women if they disagree with her.
He and She and They are Regular Folk with regular problems, nuanced beliefs, and they don’t want to be put in a political box or identity that makes them feel smaller than they already feel they are. And for the most part, they aren’t mean-spirited. They are the fibers that, woven together, hold our communities tight. They do dream and would like leaders who inspire them and have a vision.
Then there are the Special People.
Now the first sign to spot Special People is they don’t want to be Regular Folk. They want to break away from Regular Folk and do something special. Some do actually become special. Lebron did. Yo-Yo Ma did. Bob Dylan did. Steve Jobs did. Lincoln did, but he apparently came off as a member of the Regular Folk group. We need these people to inspire us and set the bar for us. They are our contemporary myths. We thank them with our applause and admiration because it’s hard work being and staying special.
It’s not wrong to want to be special. The problem is when everyone starts to think they are a Special Person. Just because someone told them they had a right to think that, it doesn’t mean it’s true. And it’s no fun to have to listen to their special thoughts.
It turns the world into a weird caste system, where the Special People make the most noise and grind the Regular Folk down. Because as the new Nike ad campaign says, “Winning Isn’t for Everyone.”
So how do you spot the Special People? You probably already know.
He’s always right about history because he read a book once.
She is quick to tell you how she got the short end of the stick in life because she had a bad boss, or was it a bad boyfriend or a bad break she can’t let go of?
They haven’t done the homework but they have a clear sense of how the world should be because it just feels right.
He was born on third base and thought he hit a triple and believes everyone should pull themselves up by their bootstraps.
She has the strongest opinions about politics and society. “You need to work harder.” “You used to be good but now you should retire and get out of the way.” “You’re woke.” “You aren’t woke.” These are the words of the Special People.
The most important aha here is there are a lot more of the Regular Folk than the Special People in this country. And whoever gets the most Regular Folk votes in elections usually wins.
The problem we’ve got now is that our politics are so twisted and confusing, it’s hard for us to know who is better for the Regular Folk. The political brands have lost their way, their DNA.
The noisemakers, the professionally offended and the professionally offensive have too much control. We need to loosen their grip.
To me, it boils down this: The political parties have been spending too much time sucking up to the Special People. If they really want to serve their country, they need to pay attention to the Regular Folk.
Long live Regular Folk.
Mike Rawlings was mayor of Dallas from 2011 to 2019.
Part of our opinion series The American Middle, this essay addresses political polarization that leaves “regular folk” unrepresented.
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