I'm Done With The Republican Party

In high school and college, even in Texas and Oklahoma, I often felt like an outsider because I believed in conservative values. I felt heartless, racist, sexist, or worse because that's how the politicians I supported were portrayed. But I could comfort myself in the knowledge that that was how the "mainstream media" was portraying these figures, but in reality their positions and beliefs are not how they are being exhibited on tv and online. I still believe that about a lot of politicians. I thought that eventually the old racist and sexist parts of the Republican Party would finally fade out, and there would be a new Republican Party more suited to our times. I thought that the empty rhetoric and pandering to "evangelicals" while not living a life dedicated to Christ would stop. I thought that true Christians would recognize a fraud and support candidates who walked the walk, talked the talk, and legislated the legislate (yeah...still working on that one). Oh how naive I was. What this election cycle has shown me is that maybe my high school English teacher was right all along. Maybe my Capstone professor wasn't crazy to say that Republicans run their entire campaigns by appealing only to white males. I remember I called him out on that broad statement that he made, and he kind of stumbled over his response before moving on. Honestly, he should have had more confidence, because he absolutely wasn't wrong. Maybe it's because I've always had an uneasy relationship with my own political beliefs. I believe in small government.  I believe in free enterprise. I believe that abortion is murder. I believe that it is important to elect Christian leaders who allow their faith to guide them. But honestly, I also believe that we still haven't fully addressed our past history with regards to race. I believe in prison reform. I believe in prison reform, not because I have seen a vast number of poor people end up in jail, but because I grew up rich and white and saw many kids get away with things that puts poor people in the school-to-prison-pipeline. I believe that marijuana should be legalized, and taxed heavily. I don't think the state gets to decide who can get married. But I also don't think anyone should be forced to violate their religious beliefs. The Ten Commandments are great, but they aren't that important in the Bible and they certainly don't need to be on the grounds of a state capital building unless all of your laws are based on them. I believe a world in which America is the leader is a safer and better world. I don't think we should be "policemen of the world" as the critic would say, but I also think fighting a war a few thousand miles away to prevent us from fighting a war in our own backyard is a pretty fair tradeoff. I've got a lot of other thoughts and opinions and honestly I've said too much already, but my general point with this is that I (and you and everyone) have a lot of opinions that don't fit comfortably in a box that's checked Republican or Democrat. And I'm tired of having to vote for Republicans. They are a party of the past and they are showing with this election that they want to stay that way. I genuinely thought that as I got older the party would change. I thought they would hang on to their important values, like free enterprise, the protection of life, and religious liberty, while eschewing the unsavory elements of the past like racism and evangelical pandering. But, I've been proven wrong. It's not the first time I've been wrong, I'm pretty experienced in that respect. Normally when I'm wrong I just take my licks and move on. This time, I'm sad. I'm sad for our country. I'm sad that I spent so many years thinking this party could be turned around. I spent so much time thinking that the party of Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan would remember the revolutionary roots that made it great. And sure, I'm writing this because Marco Rubio, with his message of hope, optimism, and inclusion has dropped out of the race. But it's not just that, and it's not just Marco. He wasn't the perfect candidate, and no one is. It was his message that never resonated with enough people. A message that we can turn things around, not by trying to go back to the past, but by striving for a better future. That's what Reagan promised. He wasn't "The Great Communicator" because he stoked anger and insulted people. He was called that because he inspired people to want to be better. And Marco failed to do that, and maybe that's his fault. But I truly think Reagan wouldn't have made it past February in this current election. He was too positive, and frankly, too liberal for voters these days. Reagan rose in the era before internet commenters, and facebook memes, and conservative talk radio. He would be torn apart by his own party and no one would have believed his optimism. I want to believe there's hope for the Republican Party, but I don't think there is. I don't know if there will be another party to rise up and take it's place, but I hope so. All I know is I don't see myself publicly identifying as a Republican ever again.