Welp if you saw the debate a few weeks ago, you may, like me, be feeling a special sort of all encompassing doom and gloom gripping your chest. A crushing concern.

Over these past few weeks I have been grappling with what I watched. I’ve been trying to put into words the pure dismay, disbelief, and discouragement I felt during and after watching what felt like two ornery grandfathers during the holidays trying to convince their grandkids that they can still fully participate in strenuous family games. The one part where they just started talking about their golf handicaps had me in a state of pure shock. I kept asking Ian, “Is this real? Is this really happening?” To which he replied with a firm and resolute, “Yes.”

President Biden and former president Trump put on a performance that can only be described as pitiful and dangerous. While I am less than excited about the upcoming election, with candidates that neither spark any particular sense of hope or true progress, it is still glaringly obvious who should win the presidency.

I have been disappointed to say the least about how Biden is handling (or mishandling) the war in Gaza. There are wars happening all over the world and people suffering with no help, no acknowledgement, and no end in sight. It feels like the whole world is on fire both literally and figuratively and more politically disconnected than ever. This administration hasn’t been nearly as progressive or aggressive when it comes to policies foreign and domestic, like protecting abortion rights or student loan debt forgiveness or giving much confidence that they will do whatever it takes in this fight against fascism. I’m not sure they even know how to fight fascism?
I do know that putting Trump or any MAGA Republican anywhere near the oval office is guaranteed destruction of democracy. I won’t lie, there is a rebellious part of me that would love nothing more than to burn it all down and start anew, but there’s another part of me that is not at all prepared for the repercussions and consequences of a fallen democracy that lead to inevitable violence and a period of unknown whose end cannot be easily ascertained. It starts with a whittling away of rights, which we’re already seeing, and then boom! I’m wearing a red dress and a white hat, being forced to be a part of the most messed up throuple, learning how to use new phrases like, under his eye, so I don’t get sent back to an institution to get reprogramed and rehoused.

I truly feel like we are on our way down a path that is as treacherous as it is unpredictable, but the one thing that might slow the speed of this runaway train is to vote for Democrats and/or Progressives in not just big elections like the presidency or senate and house races, but at local levels, too. There is always this huge focus on the presidency and the house and the senate, but a lot of changes can and do happen at state, county, town levels. Voting in people who you know will truly fight for you even when the larger America looks more and more unfamiliar, is what can be helpful to stave off some of these insane policies being outlined in something like Project 2025. By the way, if you’ve never heard of it (first of all, lucky you), it’s an extremely long document that includes a bunch of different off the wall proposals to basically extensively limit the government and take away many rights. If you have time and feel like torturing yourself, here’s the link. Trump’s even trying to distance himself from it, but considering how much of a liar he is, I don’t buy it. Even if the entire project doesn’t get implemented there is enough in it that just a few of these policies would negatively affect us all.

I don’t know if Trump will actually follow what’s in that document, but I do know that he’s proven he does not have the country’s best interest at heart in anything he does and is alarmingly susceptible to criticism and subsequently the influence of other leaders. I simply cannot do another covfefe term.

I am absolutely not trying to tell anyone how to vote, because I think it’s insulting to assume people don’t understand the reality of this situation. I am not saying it’s an easy choice, especially when there has been year after year of disappointment. I am not encouraging anyone to vote if they don’t feel they can truly stand by a decision. I am saying how I know I’m going to vote, because while I am not thrilled with the choices, while I am not happy about how Biden has spent his term, while I am tired of voting for older candidates, I am actually scared of the alternative. Honestly, I’m scared either way because I feel like there might be violence no matter who wins the election, but at least we’ll have some more time to prepare for societal collapse if Biden is elected.

HAPPY SUNDAY!