Versión Español
Spanish.— In the hours leading up to last Tuesday’s elections, the Democratic Party endured a viral moment on social media involving the image of a pet squirrel sacrificed due to the bureaucracy’s absurd protocols. Ultimately, the left faced the sentimental vote it has often appealed to in its electoral battles against conservatives, who tend to focus on more rational issues that don’t always resonate emotionally with voters.
But beyond the shocking impact on millions of Americans of the sacrifice of Peanut the squirrel, what was really at stake was government interference, which reached unprecedented levels. On Election Day, along with the squirrel memes, other images flooded social media: those of the Amish voting en masse, for the first time in history. And they did so in key states like Pennsylvania, where they contributed thousands of votes to Donald Trump’s decisive victory.
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What drove a population that typically abstains from participating in electoral processes to go to the polls en masse this time? It’s worth noting that in the United States, voting is not an obligation but a right. One must even register in advance to vote on Election Day. However, despite the Amish’s historically apolitical and nonpartisan stance, they turned out in 2024 to vote against the continuation of the Democratic administration.
Though not widely reported outside the U.S., earlier this year, agencies related to food safety and health began to target Amos Miller, an Amish man. Miller, who had until then remained apart from political debates like the rest of his community, shared raw natural milk with his neighbors, unprocessed by the standards the U.S. government requires. It’s well-known that the Amish lead a lifestyle removed from technology and consume their dairy products as they did before the advent of electricity and modern machinery.
When Pennsylvania authorities (currently governed by the Democratic Party) took Miller to court, the case began to gain national attention. Several Republican figures seized the opportunity to criticize their political rivals, publicly supporting Miller and his neighbors. Even Donald Trump Jr. spoke out, claiming that Democrats are more interested in targeting an Amish community for milking their cows than in addressing the scandals involving minors tied to the country’s elite.
They say that if you don’t involve yourself in politics, politics will involve itself with you. The Amish had historically chosen not to participate in the nation’s electoral discourse and experienced firsthand the loss of individual freedoms. However, now it was their turn to get involved, and they provided one of the most iconic images of the recent election: horse-drawn buggies, like a scene from centuries ago, heading to polling stations to vote for Trump and lost freedoms. They succeeded and helped secure the resounding Republican victory.
