It's election season in America, and it's been filled, yet again, with the annoying condescension that plagues just about every election. Except this election is different, in case you haven't heard yet. The desperation is tangible, the fear is spreading, American apathy has never been higher and I have never been more annoyed.
I'll put it out there that #ImWithHer, but this goes far beyond that. I think every voter feels my pain, disdain and utter annoyance for this election and everyone involved in it.
I'm annoyed of the articles, the opinions and the pollsters asking who I plan to vote for and if I need help finding my polling place. No thanks, Carl, I voted three weeks ago and even if I hadn't, I assure you I'm perfectly capable of finding my voting place on my own. I don't want to talk to you, and I have no intention of telling you who I voted for.
Why?
Because quite frankly, I don't want your opinion, and it doesn't change mine. I've done my research, I've gone through the voting records. I've looked at the platforms. I've read the articles from the right and the left. I've combed through all the voter information sites. And I've been tracking my candidate for the past 8 years knowing she'd run again. So if you still don't understand how I could possibly be with her, then why don't you just ask why? I'll give you a list if it's so important that you know how my values align with hers.
It's time to stop thinking that voting is somehow a "community" activity. It's not. It's an individual one. Let's also stop pretending that there is some "moral" in voting. There's not. Vote for whoever you damn well please even if that means writing in "Batman." I do not care.
How could I not care in an election like this where the stakes are so high?
Well, in case you have forgotten, America is not a democracy. It's a republic and in a republic, you vote for the candidates that represent you. This might come as a shock to some people, but, the world is full of different opinions.
Some of those opinions are based in fact, some are completely based in fiction and most contain just the right amount of data and delusion to justify it all. But different opinions naturally lend themselves to different candidates, and that's why we have more than one party.
And while I can put it out there that the ridiculousness of a Donald Trump presidency is beyond me, people have the right to make whatever choice they want to match whatever their view of the world is and trust me, it's certainly not my view, but it's also not my vote or my life. Everyone has their own life to live even if you don't like everything about it. That's just the way it is.
That being said, if a candidate doesn't support what you want, then don't vote for them, it's actually that simple.
So when November 8th comes, go vote. Get your sticker and leave.
Just let me, and everyone else, vote in peace.
