I think the big reason for differences of opinion between you and I is merely that the things we consider important are different.
The economic hardship that some are complaining about doesn't affect anyone I know. In fact, everyone in my family and social circle are living middle or upper-middle class lives. From where I sit, the economy is actually on a tear and there are tons of jobs available. We're actually having a hard time filling positions at work.
Regarding blue collar jobs, I do think tariffs will help a little bit in the short term but it's important to keep in mind that automation is eliminating as many or more such jobs as offshoring is and has. Just look at garbage collection. If anything, there is more garbage to be collected nowadays but instead of three guys on a truck (one driving and two hanging off the back) it is now just one guy driving and operating a remote arm. Automation in the form of machine learning and AI will start taking over white collar jobs within the next decade.
On one hand automation helps increase productivity and decrease costs but there is a tipping point. Eventually, we'll have so many unemployed that there is going to be a sharp rise in crime and/or a drain on social programs. This is going to be a huge problem, probably in my lifetime. Border tariffs will be ineffective when that time comes. I wish I knew the solution.
Republicans love to act like they care for the blue collar worker these days, but their policies don't really bear this out. They continue to reduce the power of unions that used to fight for wages and benefits and are doing nothing to stem the rise of the extreme wage inequality that has been going on the last 20 years. They remove "burdensome" regulations to reduce the costs businesses suffer, but these same businesses just line the pockets of their executives with the excess and then outsource or automate their low and middle-skill positions. We already know that what Republican politicians used to call trickle-down economics don't have the intended result, yet they keep doing pushing these sorts of policies. It doesn't work. And it doesn't have anything to do with how hard someone works. Not really.
Regarding social issues and identity politics, I'm inclined to agree to a certain extent. People are people. If anything, identity is a regional thing now rather than racial or sexist. That said, we do still have a ton of identity issues we're dealing with in this country. I think the Black Lives Matter movement is indicative of that. But I don't think it's useful any longer for politicians, especially Democrats, to base policies on identity. It's what burned them so bad in 2016.
The issues that I think are most important are public health and education. The Republican positions here are both pretty dismal, IMO. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a believer in private education and non-free college; I just think that public education offerings from K - 12 should be robust. It ends up benefiting us all. It has the ability to create people that can better contribute to society from an intellectual, artistic, and economic standpoint. It (should) also have the secondary effects of reduction in certain types of crime and a reduction in the need for large social welfare programs.
Instead, what Republicans like to do is point out the poor performance of our public schools as a reason to reduce funding (why throw good money after bad, right?). But then they again point at the lackluster state of public education that inevitably results and further reduce the resources available. Repeat ad infinitum. Is anyone surprised at the result?
Public health is a thornier issue, but I don't believe that a person's health should be a for-profit endeavor. This has already created a ton of situations where a bunch of diseases that otherwise might be cured are instead chronic conditions that require lifetime treatment because the economic incentive for health care and pharmaceutical providers is to treat rather than to cure. It's tough though because there is no way to force people to live healthy lifestyles. You can't effectively make people not smoke or drink, for example, and the people that don't end up subsidizing those that do. Of course, on the flip side, we already are doing that in our current health care insurance system so I don't see what the big deal is.
Edit: I just wanted to add something in your response to the "erosion of our values" comment. To me, values are a familial thing. It's your parents' and maybe religion's job to teach you a value system. Nothing really stops you from having your own values, though I suppose societal pressures could create issues for people whose values become increasingly niche and ostracized. People don't want their values legislated onto them. To me, legislators imposing some sort of Christian value system via law is not at all different than a Middle Eastern regime imposing sharia law. Now, I can already see a right wing reader to this comment saying "but the left has been trying to impose their values on everyone for decades!" But have they? If a law allowing for abortion is passed, is it suddenly illegal to be pro-life? Pretty sure no one is going to force abortions on anyone. Pretty sure a pro-life woman is still allowed to believe abortions are wrong. Everyone is free to practice their own value system, societal pressures notwithstanding.
Also, from where I sit, I don't understand how someone focused on values would choose Donald Trump as a candidate. If erosion of values is a major concern, isn't he basically the polar opposite of the type of leader you would want?
Edit 2: Regarding your comment about the left acting like resistance in an occupied country... I'm not sure that's fair. That's not to say I don't understand why you said it, but I think you just lack some perspective. Take it from me, most people on the left are still in downright shock that DJT is our President. Que and I both used the phrase "worst possible outcome" to describe Trump's election. I still believe it. Someone like Paul Ryan, Rand Paul, John Kaisich... I wouldn't have loved it, of course, but I could handle it. DJT? To me it's like an own-goal in soccer. It's like blowing up our own country. Time will tell, but I am not encouraged by what I've seen so far.
Additionally, you have to keep in mind that there is clearly a wide spectrum of beliefs in this country. And now you have basically just one side of those beliefs in complete control of the federal government and in control of a large majority of state governments. Even in the first half of Obama's first term, Dems only had control of the Presidency and Congress, not the Supreme Court, and then they never had Congressional majority in either house after that. So I don't want to hear about how the left has just had the run of the place for the last 40 years. That's plainly false.
Lastly, DJT lost the popular vote. I totally understand that the Electoral College is how Presidents are elected and there is no question that DJT won there. But think about it like this: the candidate that less people overall picked ended up winning and, on top of that, this granted complete control of the government to basically one set of viewpoints. People like me are thinking this: the will of a minority of people is going to have a massive negative impact on me, the future of America, and the future of the human race.
So when you find yourself confounded why people don't just accept the results of the election and quiet down, consider these things, because that's what "the resistance" is all about.
