I spent the better part of my life largely indifferent to politics. I didn't really care who was running things because they were all so similar. In the last ~10 years it became very clear to me that there are distinct differences emerging that had nothing to do with policies and were more about morality.
I don't know if it's because I'm getting older, or if I'm paying more attention, or if there's just more coverage.
With Trump laying bare the GOP agenda and saying all the quiet parts out loud, and them standing behind him in full force without any repercussion, I worry for the future of the nation. Not just because of policies, but because of the morality involved.
- I used to assume there was a coincidence in racists favoring the Republican party - as in they just found the Democratic agenda in opposition and Republicans were the default. I don't anymore. With everything being done and said, it's become crystal clear that there's a strong racist streak in the GOP side that has been exposed to the light and it didn't wither. It got stronger. I'm not saying everyone who's a Republican is a racist, but - well - they're backing people who rub elbows with them knowingly.
- I never once thought there was a way to "break" the courts. I had some measure of faith that there would always be a bastion of relative impartiality there. Facts would matter and rational thinking prevailed. Society would march on. Instead, it seems, it's possible for special interests to dump mountains of money into the process to get the people they believe will favor them into position to do just that - and the Senate spends considerable effort to block (a hundred?) nominees of special significance, in addition to a Supreme Court justice, during Obama's tenure just so they could pack the court in their favor and break the balance.
- Talking out of both sides of your mouth is an expected political trait. Both sides do it. I've just never seen such blatant and open hypocrisy as I have in the last four years, culminating in these last few weeks of complete absence of character on the GOP side. They worked really hard to establish a precedent when it came to election year SCOTUS nominations and wanted to set it in stone, then shattered it the second it became inconvenient to their agenda without hesitation.
- The campaign of willful ignorance is hurting my soul, deep down inside. Seeing people reject science in favor of "alternative facts" with no basis in reality feels like something out of the Dark Ages.
- I've come to discover that in many places, Republican is a default political party not by specific choice, but because people are basically raised to believe Democrats are vile and/or subhuman - something to be hated. See also: Trump's kids actually saying Democrats aren't even people. This is a deeply troubling concept, that vast numbers of people are so eager to dehumanize someone because they have a different viewpoint.
- The hate Republicans seem to have for Democrats is unbelievable. Democrats may hate Republicans because of what they're doing, but I don't think they hate them just for being Republicans. I don't remember seeing anyone on the Blue side gloating about "drinking conservative tears" when Obama was elected (I may have missed it if it did) - but that exact sentiment ("drinking liberal tears") seems to be a driving force for a lot of Republicans... to see their opposition broken, hurt, and ruined. That's not a political view. That's being a disgusting human being.
- Being Republican seems to have crossed a line from being a political party to becoming a way of life, a cult. Very often there's no way to talk rationally with them. The "death cult" of Trump is unbelievable. People suffering under his policies, still standing up for him. People willing to sacrifice their elders to him. People willing to abandon sanity for him.
- The party that tends to be more openly religious and vote by their beliefs seems to have given up and backs a man who is everything that they should be against, all rolled up into one convenient package. Dude cheated on his wife with a porn star, robbed his own charity, cheated his students, envies dictators, and is the embodiment of narcissism ... and Christians are still proud of him.
There's more I'm feeling, but it's mostly rambling disappointment in humanity. I know, absolutely, that not everyone who wears a Red pin fits all of these statements. Some more than others, and maybe some not at all. I know that not everyone who identifies as a Republican feels and follows the same things I listed above.
To those people, the ones who are actually willing to sit down and have a rational debate or listen to an alternative view, thank you. To those Republicans who have seen their party go to absolute shit in the last four years and abandon any notion of being the "conservative" party, I feel sorry for you. I've seen a number of folks here post about their own disappointment in the party that they affiliated themselves with, and I appreciate your willingness to look beyond the color on your ballot.
I don't specifically identify myself as a Democrat. I think they're a disorganized, wishy-washy lot of people who generally mean well but can't get their shit together. I don't agree with all of their policies, but I do with some of them - probably more than I do the Republicans.
Given the choice between the two parties I don't actually see a choice.
America needs a third - and maybe even a fourth - real option. It's become clear that a two-party system is deeply flawed. In Maine we've started using Ranked Choice voting, and I think that if we did that on a national scale, people could vote more with their conscience and policy without fear of "wasting" their vote.
Is it possible to fix the political system and restore a semblance of balance? Is there hope for the future of America? Can there be a "Fiscal Conservative" party again?
I'm just feeling
really stressed out right now. I've been having physical symptoms of stress - headaches, back aches, depression. I didn't sleep well at all last night, haven't in weeks really, and am deeply worried about the world we're creating that I have to hand off to my kids. I expect it'll only get worse as we approach November 3rd, and may not get better until after January 20th - if at all.
