Once, the big Republican on the block said a very profound quote regarding his opposing political party: “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party left me.”
Ronald Reagan’s words never made sense to me until I witnessed my own political party’s circus-like behavior over the last four years. I grew up in a devoutly Republican household: Fox News can be found on and blaring in at least two rooms of the house daily, Sean Hannity’s radio show is played anytime we find ourselves in the car and the biggest debate we face is whether we should buy a Ronald Reagan wall calendar or a George Bush one.
Let’s just say, I was the bleeding-heart Republican kid in class with you throughout high school.
When I got to college, I started realizing that the Republican Party was not the holy grail of politics that I was always raised to believe. I witnessed the Party unjustly push out Ron Paul in the 2012 Presidential election. I have watched them turn their backs on those that desperately needed medicinal marijuana to stop constant seizures. They refused to allow gay marriage due to their religious beliefs. They have not realized young black men are being disproportionately jailed due to drug possession. They do not care to discuss that the Federal Reserve is slowly draining the economy. They created a blatantly unconstitutional federal police force and called it the Department of Homeland Security. They continue to allow more lives to be lost overseas in war-like behavior without the actual declaration of war voted on by Congress. More recently, they have argued on stage about their penis size, pushed out Rand Paul from the mainstream media, and have decided that a racist and sexist man that can’t stop discussing his grand wealth should be their frontrunner.
I didn’t leave the Republican Party. The Republican Party left me.
The Republican Party once stood for limited government — and they might still represent that viewpoint in economic affairs. But when it comes to privacy and social matters, they have lost their heritage. The Republicans want marijuana to stay illegal, build a wall to keep Mexicans out of the country, and keep gays from marrying each other. On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats want to take your guns, raise your taxes, and regulate everything in sight. It would appear that both parties have become authoritarians … but what if you believe people should have the right to do as they please as long as it doesn’t harm anyone else and shouldn’t rely on the government for assistance? Then, I would have to tell you, you are a libertarian.
The state of affairs in the United States has become authoritarians versus libertarians. Those that want to be governed and those that say that they don’t need to be governed. It’s truly horrifying that the two mainstream candidates aren’t really that far off from one another. As for me, I’m done voting for the lesser of two evils because I am still voting for evil. I will still cast a ballot — but don’t expect it to be for Trump or Clinton. Who I will write in is still being decided, but I hope you take a stand: do not be told you don’t know how to run your own life. You are your own person, free to live your life the way you choose to, not the way government forces you to.
