Why This Former Republican says, ‘#I’mWithHer’

While I spent most of my adult years as a registered Republican, I finally went Independent in 2000. The Republicans had gotten too liberal for my liking. Raised in a fundamentalist Christian home, right wing politics and Jesus went together like godliness and cleanliness. Over the years, however, I had a multitude of epiphanies, revelations and realizations. Godliness and cleanliness are never mentioned together in the Bible. Then again, neither is Jesus and right wing politics.

As my beliefs changed, so did my politics. Saying I was pro-life and pro-death penalty didn’t make sense. Blanket generalizations about “those people” – immigrants, other races, other religions – started causing mental conflicts within me. Our “Christian” nation (over 70% identify as Christians) continues to drift further behind the rest of the world’s developed nations in education and job skills, while soaring in drug abuse, largest prison population, and highest health costs. Clearly, our “Christian” values aren’t working.

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And then I learned that 90% of the media is controlled by just six corporations. Only 232 executives decide what Americans will see in the media (see info graph). Just 10 corporations, according to Business Insider, control nearly everything we consume. So, it’s no wonder that corporations have a strong lobbying interest. They control what the American public does, eats and is told.

I’d like to say the Democratic Party came along and put my mind at ease. The reality, however, is that both parties are equally owned by large corporations. Of the top 50 corporate contributors, according to the Federal Election Committee, nearly $430 million has been donated so far in 2016. The Republican Party has received more than $222 million, a mere 7.1% more than the Democrat’s $207 million. Regardless of who makes it to the White House, our government has been sold to the highest bidder. Don’t expect the cost of your insurance or pharmaceuticals to drop any time soon.

So why does it matter who we vote for? For me it boils down to the one thing companies can’t buy from American citizens: “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

The Republican Party, led by their new leader, is a party of racism, xenophobia, misogyny, pseudo-Christian values, white supremacy, exclusivism, and fear. Donald Trump has been described as a sociopath, and a narcissist, by those who know him well. 13 countries have expressed their disdain for Trump, while our allies, England and Ireland, have signed petitions asking their governments to ban him from entering their countries. Trump is an embarrassment to our nation, according to 50% of voters. While Hillary has a record of foolishly denying and lying about what she has said, I’m confident she will at least maintain status quo in Washington and not send off nuclear warheads on a whim.

America is a nation of immigrants. My family, like most white Americans, is a mixture of European and Native American descent. Our country’s history, no matter how glorious schoolbooks like to depict it, was often violent and cruel. We have a chance to change the trajectory, but only if we work together to make it happen.

Currently, 37% of the U.S. population is non-white. The census bureau estimates the white majority will be gone by 2043. Yet, our current system is set against minorities, who are disproportionately imprisoned, receive lower pay on average, and are underserved in education. This isn’t the time to build walls, it’s time to build a bigger table and figure out how we’re going to grow an inclusive economy and empower our citizens.

While my life is likely more than half over, my children will inherit a world that looks significantly different than the one in which I was raised. I choose to see our changing demographic as an opportunity rather than a threat. Diversity brings new ways of looking at situations. It encourages collaboration and problem solving, something sorely missing in our nation now.

Hillary Clinton is not my first choice. I, like many Americans, am fed up with the politics, the lies, the sell-outs, and the underground bargaining. But I am for inclusion. Not just white America, but for all America. If that’s the only place we have to start in this election, then #I’mWithHer.

Originally Published on Huffington Post

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Photo: Getty Images