It is super Tuesday across the country in an election which for the first time in my life will have major ramifications. And you know what? For the first time in over a decade I did not vote.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts my whole mindset about being an American has changed. I went from writing a paper in Japan explaining how America was the best country in the world, and actually failing the class because I refused to change the topic as the request of the professor, to not even voting. How could this be?
Well, in short I used to think that at the end of the day we were all Americans and on the same team. I voted for Barack Obama because I believed at minimum each citizen should have healthcare. I liked his speeches about inclusiveness and raising each other up. The Republicans on the other hand were the warmongers always looking to start a war. They just wanted to help the 1% by cutting benefits which I didn’t think was right.
Then Hillary happened. She rigged the election against Bernie Sanders, stood by her cheating husband in the interest of power and seemed so condescending. There were a few straws which broke the camels back. The first was a call from a sniveling Democratic fundraiser who said “If I could just get’cha to get out your credit card.” I hung up on him. The second was listening to my buddy at the State Department about her handling of Bengazi. He told me the information about an attack was there but she did nothing nor did she apologize after the fact. The third was how she did not apologize or take any responsibility of losing to Trump. That election was not just about her, it was about all of the Democrats but you wouldn’t know it by listening to her. She didn’t apologize or take any responsibility for that either.
As for Trump, I don’t care about his personal affairs but I don’t like many of his policies such as alienating just about all of our allies, not caring for the planet and him calling his long time business partners such as Michael Cohen rats and so on. These were people that served him and his interests for decades. They call him out for his wrongdoing and he calls them rats? Not very Presidential.
I remain completely amazed at the spell he has cast among his supporters. He truly can do no wrong in their eyes. Now, I understand and even like a few of his policies but the way that everyone supports him without question, and even with his many, many faults is downright scary. They are truly under his spell.
I try to understand them but cannot help but come to the conclusion that this is the fault of the media. You have Fox News spewing propaganda and CNN plays both sides of the fence for profit. You have Rush Limbaugh, who has spouted hatred for years now receiving the Medal of Freedom? What has happened to the America I once knew?
As for the Democratic candidates there are none I can support. I’m now invested in the stock market and as the sole supporter of my family need it to do well. Sanders and socialism is no good for that. I’m not even inherently against socialism having lived in France, Spain and even communist Vietnam. I’m for helping but then I realized I don’t like the government to be the one setting the rules. I asked myself a simple question and that was do I like dealing with the government? The answer is a hard NO. I don’t like taxes, I don’t like going to the DMV, I don’t like going through immigration, I don’t like anything where I have to go to a government office. I’ve learned that if I ask myself this question sincerely, I’d rather have less government than more of it. Government is awash in corruption. I used to vote for more taxes for schools, infrastructure, giving more money to whoever really. Then after a decade of voting for such things I learned that the government just asks for more money. No thank you.
I cannot support Sanders because I don’t want the government taking more of my money. I cannot support Biden because he is a bit creepy, and he installed his son on the board of some Ukrainian company to make millions. This is not honest, it is corrupt is what it is. A government official should not use his position to help family members. That is what Trump does so is Biden really much different?
In the long term, I think a bit more socialism would be in the best interest for the country. The playing field is completely unfair with all the wealth going straight to the top. But again, I’ve realized we are no longer on the same team but a collection of individuals looking out for ourselves. So, OK, I’ll play this game. I’m not in the 1% but I know how to look after my own nest egg and socialism in the short term is no good for my finances.
I’ll roll with whichever way the tide is moving and my vote doesn’t really matter anyway. Decades of gerrymandering have seen to this.
All I care about on this day of March 3rd, 2020 is the economy and how the stock market performs. Sadly to say that is probably Trump but I certainly will not vote for him. Instead I’ll just watch all the Red Hats trounce the Democrats because the Left has gone too far. My firefighting buddy put it best when he said “We’ve become a nation of sissies.” With the Left you get gender neutral this and non-binary that. You get federal funds supporting poor choices and a nanny state trying to take care of a sick population. Just take a look at the state of San Francisco these days and you’ll see where those extreme left policies lead. To spell it out you get people getting high in broad daylight, pooping in the street and aggressively panhandling for money. You get crime and hundreds of cars broken into a day all while the leadership does nothing. All this nonsense going on in San Francisco has slowly started to turn me into a *gasp* Conservative.
The only thing that keeps me hanging on to the left is my experience overseas. We are all human beings who all live on planet Earth. There should be more inclusiveness, more open borders and more caring for those who cannot care for themselves. Unfortunately with the Trump crowd we’re moving in the opposite direction.
So, I’ve opted to sit out. We’re not on the same team and I’ll play the “everyone for themselves” game as far as politics go. This is the day where we’re supposed to be proud of our institution and freedom to vote. Well, any other day everyone else is the competition for the most part. Trump will most likely win and continue to tear down our norms and institutions while providing a lot of red meat to his base along the way. Again, some of the meat I like such as keeping that stock market high. But there is also an undercurrent against immigrants and if you read this blog you’d know I’m very tied to Japan. There is no way I’d take my family to a state such as Alabama or Tennessee these days. Did I say many “countrymen” were now competition? With the backlash against immigrants they are wavering close to being an actual enemy instead of merely competition. Or maybe it is just the news and their propaganda which makes me think these things.
Either way, I’m watching from the sidelines and will take action to support my family and local community. I will not however be participating in any voting for which way America will go on the overall.
