So Over Politics

I haven’t written anything political in a long time, and this probably won’t really be political, but I keep getting asked what I think about the candidates and the debates and the conventions, etc. I’m just going to cut everyone off from the beginning and say, I haven’t watched any of it. Period. I know who is running, and I know who I am voting for, if I vote, and that is about it. This is actually the first time since I was of legal voting age that I have thought seriously about not voting.

I do understand why people want my thoughts. For the past thirty-two years, I have been in the thick of every election. I have known everything I could know about every candidate, their strengths and their weaknesses, their policies, their backgrounds, their friends and families, and anything else that played in my candidate’s favor or the other candidate’s demise. I have debated endlessly and adamantly with friends about politics and why my side was right, and I could back up everything I said. I have never identified as republican or democrat, but as an open-minded conservative. I make a point of not putting people into boxes and saying “all” of any group does this or that, because we know that isn’t true. Not all cat lovers are democrats, not all gun owners are republicans. I can no longer watch the news and see people being put down for what they truly believe because of politics. It completely turns me off. It also completely turns me off when people dodge questions by doing their political spiel instead of answering the question, or when they talk over each other. If you want to be a leader, be willing and able to answer the tough questions and not just regurgitate the party platform. Know what you believe in whether that sits well with your political base or not. There is a reason John McCain and Joe Manchin were/are both loved and hated in political circles. They didn’t bow to their party, they stood up for what they believed in. Manchin is still alive, sorry for using past tense for him as well. I am at a point that I feel I am more in their shoes. I lean heavily one way, but there are ideas on the other side that I cannot go against. So, to keep the peace with my family and friends on both sides of the spectrum, I usually avoid talking politics. Yes, this is new for me, but I feel it is going well.

Another reason I have no idea what is going on in politics, or in the other news for that matter is that I have so much going on in my life, I do not have time for the news. I have at least three projects going on at this time that I am spending all my free time with. I am about to start another. I have a side business that I operate on nights and weekends. I barely have time to be a participant in Master Gardeners anymore. And you might want to sit down for this one, I now have a good man who takes up some of my time. Hopefully, soon he will take up much more of it. I am currently getting ready for a major home repair that is going to be a big disruption for my feline and me. Finally, I have started a strict bedtime of 10:00 on work nights, so there is no staying up to watch the political recap of the day. For probably the last six to eight months, I have enjoyed being tuned out. I have learned that I prefer the more positive things in life, and I just don’t really care about politics anymore.

Ok, now I am going to get into politics just a little and tell you where I stand, if you are one who wants to know. I do not like Joe Biden, and I was very happy to see him step down. Unlike many people, I wasn’t surprised when Kamala started rising in the polls very quickly. Kamala is a woman of color. She is smart, yes, she is smart. Stupid people don’t become lawyers. Just because a person isn’t quick on their feet or a good orator, doesn’t make them stupid. I am neither of those things, and I have a pretty high IQ. She speaks in word salads. You put me in front of a lot of people and cameras and make me talk about things I know nothing about, and so do I. She is young (as far as politicians go), she is nice looking, she is energetic and fun, and she is someone a young woman can look up to. The simple fact that I don’t agree with her politically doesn’t take any of these things away. If I had to look at a picture of Kamala and Trump side by side, not knowing either, and told to choose one to be president, she would probably be my choice. That is really all you need to know. Most people do not follow politics. Those who don’t follow politics, tend to pick out the person they can relate to the most. Honestly, if I was just looking at Donald Trump for the first time without knowing anything about him, I would see a grumpy old white guy with a fake orange tan and yellow hair from a bottle, whose suit pants do not fit good, and I would have no interest.

I am very conflicted with Donald Trump. For once, we have two people running who we have seen work for four years each. To be fair, the vice president doesn’t do much, so we really don’t get a good view of what Kamala would do as President, as she was number two enforcing someone else’s policies. We do know that Donald Trump will pursue what he says he will, and if there is a way, he will deliver. We do know he is not in the game for the money and fame, because he was richer and famous without being President. We know he works hard for the people, and he loves this country.  We know where he stands on all the important issues, because he will stand in front of tens of thousands of people and tell them. He will do interview after interview to tell people what he will do. The conflict comes from the fact that I just can’t make myself like the man. I do not like arrogant men, and he is the world’s worst. He is a narcissist, another big turnoff for me. I hate seeing a grown man stoop so low as to call his peers names like a school yard bully. He is mean, irresponsible, and if I had behaved like him when I was home, I would have been grounded or worse. It is very difficult to see that as presidential. I do think it certainly looks bad to the rest of the world to have a man with this behavior as the leader of the free world, no matter what he stands for. It frustrated my so much during the primaries that every one of those running as a republican would have probably made a good president, but too many people were obsessed with Donald Trump to give any of them a chance.

My vote always will come down to three things: my moral compass, national security, and the economy. I feel like under Donald Trump all of those were satisfied. Under Joe Biden, none of them were. One of my big issues is abortion. Do I think all abortion is wrong? Yes. Do I think all abortion should be outlawed? No. This is a free country and honestly, a woman should be able to decide if she wants to carry a baby with her body or not. I believe that she will have to make that decision with her heart and eventually answer to God. I’m not going to judge her, that is not my place. What I do think should be outlawed and I do think the mother and the doctor should be charged with murder, is if a viable baby if aborted. If the baby can live outside the womb, then aborting it is murder, plain and simple. The only exception would be to save the life of the mother, and that is less than one percent of all abortions. After the birth, if the mother doesn’t want that baby, there are plenty of couples out there who can’t have children who would love to have that baby.

Another big issue for me is the borders. They should be secure just like every other nation in the world. If someone is caught not coming in through the port of entry, they should be sent to where they came from and banned from coming in at all. If caught again, they should be locked up. Yes, that is a lot of money, but nothing near what we are paying to keep them up while they stay here indefinitely on the taxpayer’s dime. All that money we save can go to things like cleaning up and paying for the devastation in Ashville. We have people in the United States who would love to go to college for free, who would love free health care, would love a free phone, free housing, free food, free money, etc. But our government is giving it to illegal immigrants while our own citizens do without. I have a serious problem with that. Let’s take care of our own first and then we can take care of everyone else.

The economy is a major factor for everyone I know. A few years ago, gas was under $2 a gallon. Eggs were under a dollar a dozen, and a quarter pounder meal at McDonalds was less than $6. My vehicle before this one had 0% interest, the lowest I could get on my new one was 4.22%, and that is with perfect credit. It now costs over $9 for that quarter pounder. A couple weeks ago I spent over $3 on a dozen eggs, and if gas is under $3 a gallon we think that is good. I used to be a lot more carefree with buying groceries and clothes and going out than I am now. Nowadays, I only go out to eat on Fridays at work. Most days one of my meals is a protein bar or something very quick and easy that doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. I get detergent, drugs, personal care products, and household cleaners at Sams in bulk. I buy much of my year’s wardrobe, electronics, and household items, and a cell phone if needed on Black Friday. I find gifts clothing, needed and luxury items on Amazon prime days. I no longer buy sliced apples, I slice them myself and vacuum pack them, so they don’t turn brown, to take for lunch. I do the same with fruit about to be too ripe and leftovers. I buy meat on sale and vacuum pack it to have for later meals. I take fewer baths, set the thermostat higher in the summer and lower in the winter, am more conservative with the laundry and dishwashing. I rarely buy bread anymore because a half loaf costs more than a whole loaf and I can never eat a whole loaf and I don’t like it after it has been frozen. It is ok, I probably don’t need bread anyway. I want to look good for that man.

All I know is that I was much better off under President Trump than under President Biden. I can’t say as men that I like either one. As a person I probably would have more fun with Kamala, though I probably wouldn’t hang out with her either. I am a bit of a loner. The problem is that we are not supposed to choose a president on their likability, but their policies. In that case, I must vote for Donald Trump. I think he has the best interest of this country at heart, and he would rather people be more free than more restricted. I believe he is a stronger advocate of freedom of religion, national security and the military, and knows much more about the economy and what it will take to get this nation back in business for itself. I may hold my nose when I do it, but if I go to vote this year, I will be voting for Donald Trump. God help us all for the next four years, whoever gets it.