Just a brief note before I begin: please, follow the hyperlinks denoted by the highlighted font to see sources that verify my claims in this article.
As the Pennsylvania primary neared a few months ago, thousands upon thousands of Democratic party members jumped ship and joined the Grand Old Party (from now on referred to as "GOP").
At the time, those trained to follow political trends asserted that the exodus occurred in order to support Donald Trump in his endeavor to gain the Republican presidential nomination. His lacking of a lifestyle akin to most career politicians as well as his refusal to conform to demonstrate political correctness were attractive to voting-age individuals--especially white, blue-collar males--who were exasperated by the status quo in the United States. These same people who climbed on the Trump bandwagon cited their disdain with the idea of experiencing "another 8-years of President Barack Obama." At the denouement of the primary on April 26, 2016, these speculative claims were shown to hold water, as Trump secured the landslide victory and all 17 delegates by winning in every Pennsylvania county by margins ranging from around 25% to (in some counties) 60+%.
On July 19, 2016, on just the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC), Trump was officially awarded the Republican nomination for the office of President of the United States (POTUS).
From the moment I became 18-years-young up until the 2016 RNC, I had been a proud member of the Republican party. However, I refuse to support or even be associated with a party where the candidate has a track record for being a misogynistic pig who threatens the integrity of this once great nation. And, the reprehensible actions are not confined to just Trump, as his advisors are now making news for comments not unlike those we've become accustomed to hearing from the Republican nominee. Let's not even begin discussing the "born-again," conservative puppet he chose as a running-mate (click here to see Governor Mike Pence's stances, in case you don't already have an idea of the politician he is).
Just a few days ago, I made the decision to begin the paperwork to disaffiliate myself from the GOP and become an Independent.
Before Republicans light their torches and sharpen their pitchforks, I'm not with her, since I consider Clinton to be in the same light as Trump as far as aptitude in holding the office of POTUS. The Democrats are not gaining a vote with my decision (for length considerations, I won't focus on why I don't believe in Clinton as a viable choice for the highest office in the United States). And, before Democrats say I'm sexist and don't want to see a female Commander-in-Chief, that couldn't be farther from the truth. Given the right circumstances and a female candidate who embodies the hope and ideals this nation needs as well as carrying with her a respectable moral standing, I would emphatically advocate for her election.
Instead, this is how I choose to make a statement in what has become a joke of an election between two parties that forgot how to work within themselves for their common goals.
Beyond the scope of what we already know of Trump and Clinton, I'm making the decision to become an Independent due to the growing divide present in both parties. The battle between the two parties (being the GOP and the Democratic party) has been and always will be present until their absolutions; however, the burgeoning division within each, respectively, has been a political turn-off. In response to leaving the Republican party, I do not want to be labeled a member who is acting in an insubordinate manner since I cannot support the chosen nominee; and in response to not joining the Democrats, I cannot support a candidate who altered her campaign stances to steal Sanders supporters from Trump, knowing full well that she could flop back to her original agenda (I acknowledge that it's a commonplace to adopt policies of failed campaigns to bring the party together, but Clinton has a poor track record for holding true to her positions). If you want to look beyond the candidate and instead at the party as a whole, the Democrats are showing deep-rooted corruption extending to the heart of the contingency itself, further exemplifying the budding disjuncture.
That all being said, and taking this a step further, I am considering abstaining from casting a ballot for POTUS this election year altogether. I can't stomach the idea of compromising my beliefs to support the "lesser of two evils," as most people refer to choosing between two deplorable options; but, not voting strips me of any right to complain about the result and, for all intensive purposes, disenfranchises myself. In my opinion, voting for a third-party candidate isn't an option since the support of one means taking a vote from a major-party contender, thusly meaning I would indirectly be in support of either Trump or Clinton, which leads me back to my original ordeal. I cannot in good conscience vote for either.
In the grand scheme of things, I realize one vote does not mean much in theory (of course, there is the unlikely scenario portrayed in the 2008 film "Swing Vote," starring Kevin Costner), but I don't want to be involved in an election where media focuses more attention on Melania Trump's blatant plagiarism than on the Flint, Michigan water crisis, just to name one example.
Does anyone else find it somewhat ironic that the color of Kermit's tea is grotesquely similar to the color of the water in Flint, Michigan?