Number 90

VOTE Anyway

According to FB, I have 337 "friends." If you are one of the twenty or so friends that support Donald Trump, you might as well stop reading right now - there is nothing of interest for you here. This post is for the other 300+ folks out there who recognize him as the dangerous dumpster fire he is.

So I voted yesterday. My candidate didn't do so well. As of this writing they haven't dropped out of the race, but I imagine it will probably happen soon. C'est la vie. In my lifetime Barack Obama is the only candidate that I backed from the start that became my party's candidate. (That he won twice was a total bonus!) The wisdom of age has taught me that politics and disappointment often walk hand-in-hand.

I know that many of you are also disappointed that your preferred candidate has fallen by the wayside. It sucks to invest the time and emotional energy into identifying a presidential candidate that you can support only to have them fade from view. It's easy to fall into a "pick up your ball and go home" type of thinking. "Fine!" You say to yourself, "I'll just stay home on election day." Or you'll submit a write-in vote for Yoda, Fred Flintstone, or some other asinine choice. Maybe you'll decide to vote for a third party candidate to register your displeasure. Under usual circumstances, I would shrug my shoulders and tell you to "knock yourself out - it's your vote to throw away."

Here's the thing, though. Right now - the year 2020 in America - is not usual circumstances. Donald Trump is an affront to everything that is decent and worthwhile. He is an abomination. And I am genuinely scared for this country and our entire world if he is re-elected. Enough is enough.

I survived Ronald Reagan and the war crimes his cabinet perpetrated. I survived Bill Clinton's fast and loose interpretation of the rule of law. I survived the incompetence of George W. Bush. It's part of being an American to put up with those occasions when the other party's candidate wins. It may be galling when it happens, but it's not usually life threatening.

But Donald Trump is.

So. Boo-Fucking-Who, your choice is not gonna be the Democratic candidate for president. VOTE anyway. But you really don't like the person who will be the candidate. VOTE anyway. But they support policies that you believe are racist or sexist. VOTE anyway. But they don't really support the issues that are important to you. VOTE anyway. But you think that voting for this person might actually cause you to throw up in your mouth a little. VOTE anyway. But you feel like there's no real difference between the Democratic candidate and Trump (well... you're wrong, but that's a conversation for another day). VOTE anyway, and take your family with you. VOTE anyway. and take your friends with you. VOTE anyway. VOTE anyway. VOTE anyway.

Get the fuck out and VOTE anyway. It really is that important.