Education has constantly been a subject of many writings about the division of election between the presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. This is because the polling results suggest how Clinton is able to make big gains of votes from the white educated voters, specifically women voters, while Trump largely depends on the white working class men for his votes.
According to an article written by Nate Cohn last month, education has replaced the culture wars as the defining electoral divide. Why is this so? How do you really define educated?
Education here does not have anything to do with being smart, with I.Q., nor intelligence. But it is basically about what you learn, especially when you go to college and get a degree. Some readers would explain how higher education can change how a person thinks and how it improves a person's critical thinking.
It is also not about the credentials and the status in the society, not even about the skills and abilities of a person. But some readers suggest that it is because College educated voters went to schools with professors who are mostly Democrats so it is impossible for their political views to remain untouched when then leave college. Or it could be about the location, as one reader would suggest.
"I think educated people support Democrats because they have better employment opportunities over a lifetime, not because they read philosophy in college. If you live in the I-95 corridor, the communities show growth and opportunities for education. If you live in small towns in the industrial heartland, your employment opportunities are limited." said Mary Mac, from New Jersey.
Or could it be because of policy preferences of the candidates? A reader, William Hayes of Houston, said, "Trump promises jobs by rolling back globalization, which appeals to the undereducated, not because they're stupid, but because they believe decreasing globalization will help them get good jobs."
This upcoming election looks like it's going to be extraordinarily historical and controversial, but if this division persists until the time of the Election, it could result in a defeat for Trump.
