5th September 2025, 10:52 AM
What's sad about the infighting is that I often find myself agreeing with parts of what both sides (liberals and leftists) are saying. Yes, I want real, tangible change to improve our quality of life, make advancements in human rights, and stop the genocide in Gaza. In that sense, I agree with leftists and am also frustrated with virtue-signaling establishment Democrats. On the other hand, I don't do protest votes and don't seek out ideological purity from candidates. I voted for Kamala Harris because she was the best chance we had at that point to defeat Donald Trump. I voted for Joe Biden because he was the best chance we had at that point to defeat Donald Trump. I voted for Hillary Clinton because... you get the point.
I've seen some people go so far as to say that a vote for Biden or Harris is a vote for genocide. As if Trump is any more of an ally to the Palestinian people than Biden was or Harris would have been? The man wants to turn Gaza into a golf course. I can't stand the self-righteousness that they feel for basically having handed the government to Trump not once, but twice. "At least I didn't vote for genocide!" We still got genocide. And now trans people are less safe, people with brown skin are being sent to concentration camps regardless of legal status or genuine efforts to attain legal status, and... oh, look at that, grocery prices are still up. My vote for Harris last November was not a character witness testimony. I am not married to the person I vote for. It was a strategic move to try to have the least terrible four years possible.
Do I want real change? Yes. Do I want ranked choice voting? Absolutely. Do we need more political engagement so that people vote in primaries and we can get better candidates in the general election? Hell yes. Do we need to get money out of politics? Should've happened ages ago. But I also want to survive in the short term. I vote in the primaries for progressive candidates, then I vote in the general election for the better of the two viable options we have, knowing full well that I live in a deep red state, but... hey, if Georgia can flip purple, who knows?
I don't know that there's a political ideology for me either. I want human rights and information literacy (verifiable facts regardless of ideology) to be our ruling principles, which unfortunately does not describe the world we live in. Beyond that, labels like "liberal" and "conservative" are... restrictive. At best, they often inhibit our ability to think critically and innovatively. At worst, they divide us into factions that hate each other and wish to inflict suffering and harm onto the "others."
I've seen some people go so far as to say that a vote for Biden or Harris is a vote for genocide. As if Trump is any more of an ally to the Palestinian people than Biden was or Harris would have been? The man wants to turn Gaza into a golf course. I can't stand the self-righteousness that they feel for basically having handed the government to Trump not once, but twice. "At least I didn't vote for genocide!" We still got genocide. And now trans people are less safe, people with brown skin are being sent to concentration camps regardless of legal status or genuine efforts to attain legal status, and... oh, look at that, grocery prices are still up. My vote for Harris last November was not a character witness testimony. I am not married to the person I vote for. It was a strategic move to try to have the least terrible four years possible.
Do I want real change? Yes. Do I want ranked choice voting? Absolutely. Do we need more political engagement so that people vote in primaries and we can get better candidates in the general election? Hell yes. Do we need to get money out of politics? Should've happened ages ago. But I also want to survive in the short term. I vote in the primaries for progressive candidates, then I vote in the general election for the better of the two viable options we have, knowing full well that I live in a deep red state, but... hey, if Georgia can flip purple, who knows?
I don't know that there's a political ideology for me either. I want human rights and information literacy (verifiable facts regardless of ideology) to be our ruling principles, which unfortunately does not describe the world we live in. Beyond that, labels like "liberal" and "conservative" are... restrictive. At best, they often inhibit our ability to think critically and innovatively. At worst, they divide us into factions that hate each other and wish to inflict suffering and harm onto the "others."