The Big Political Lie #NeverTrump

Our political system is being ravaged. There’s a huge, annoying beast trashing it and throwing it around! No, I’m not talking about Donald Trump, although the same could be said to describe him. No, I’m talking about something else. What is this beast of which I speak? Surprisingly, it’s a single, small phrase that holds many Republicans and conservatives hostage. “If you don’t vote for X, you’re voting for Z.”

Comment after comment, Facebook status after Facebook status, face-to-face conversation after face-to-face conversation, I keep getting told that if I don’t vote for Trump, then I’ll be voting for Hillary. Why have we painted ourselves into a corner like this? Why? Why do we perpetuate this lie?

I’ve heard this from multiple people, time and time again, who can’t stand the thought of Trump, but will suck it up, pull the lever and vote for him in order to beat Hillary. Whatever happened to voting according to conscience? Whatever happened to voting for someone, not to beat another person, but to stand on solid morals and to back a candidate that’s worth backing?Don’t you realize that the lesser of two evils is still evil?

You know what I think? I think the people acquiescing to this phrase should stop being cowards. I think if the people spreading this message of fear, despite hating the candidate they claim they must vote for, were to grow a pair and vote according to what they know is right, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this predicament. We’ve gotten stuck in this loop, so farther and farther down the rabbit hole we go. The Republican party has no regard for the conservative movement. I mean, come on. Look at the past candidates that have been the Republican party’s nominees for President. They throw up moderate or liberal, left leaning candidates, and then force us to vote for them while screaming the, already referenced, demonstrative phrase. “Our candidate is better than the democratic candidate! It’s the only way to keep the democratic candidate out!”, they cry.

We’re like Hong Kong. Do you see that? Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997, following an agreement in 1984 between China and Great Britain. The terms of the agreement? That Hong Kong have it’s own governmental system, that it enjoy “a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defense affairs”, and that they elect their chief executive through democratic measures. Sounds good, right? But there’s a problem. There’s a catch. Last year there were sweeping protests in Hong Kong, you can look it up by searching for “The Umbrella Movement”, because China was going to allow them to elect their own chief executive, but only from a handful of candidates the Chinese government decided upon.

You see the problem with that, right? And we are, figuratively, under Chinese rule now. We get to choose from super liar, narcissist, liberal candidate A or super liar, narcissist, has no morals or policies candidate B. Here’s the thing though, we still have the opportunity to say, “NO!” We don’t have to vote for either of the candidates put forth. We don’t have to be under Chinese rule! There are more than two parties!

How we’ve let this message bind us so that we’re sitting in a trash can, hoping one day it’ll get better, while the Republican party shovels garbage before us is beyond me. But, here’s the thing, there’s still a glimmer of hope. A very small glimmer, but it’s still there and there’s still time. Are you going swallow the blue pill, with a grimace, while your freedoms are slowly stripped away or are you going to take the red pill and do what’s right? If we stop being cowards and stand up for what’s right, we could start a real movement and take this country back to it’s original roots. Vote according to your conscience. Stop spreading this phrase that only kills the process and puts us in a box. Stand up for what’s right.