#vote18

Things are very likely to get pretty ugly after the midterms in america, no matter who wins.

A solid 25% of the population is ride-or-die with a pathalogical liar.

These are a lot of the same people who disproportionately buy up entire armories worth of firearms.

And a disproportionately large number of them are hardcore conditioned by fundamentalist religious ideals.

And the mueller investigation is making the big cheese himself shit his pants a bit and leave shit-finger-smudges over everthing he touches.

He is probably going to attempt some form of illegal power grab in the very near future - begin a war, give himself permission to ignore or overrule the judiciary branch, stage or instigate an attack. He is already telegraphing many likely options.

What my point is, America, Darling, is that we are rapidly approaching a make-or-break moment with our freedom, equality, and liberty.

And how it all shakes out will depend entirely on each and every individuals ability to take a step back, Assess a whole lot of really complicated political history and honestly look at which policies and actions politicians have taken that have improved the lives of americans, and which politicians have used race-baiting and fear to maintain power while selling their constituients to the higest bidder.

Hint: both parties are not the same. Every politician is not the same. Every party member is not the same. There really are officials in congress who do their best to fight for the people who live and work in their districts.

TrumpRussia is real. Or at least real enough that under normal circumstances this administration would have been nullified by now. There is a systematic pillaging happening by those in charge of most of the government at the moment.

It will take a long time to fix this, particularly because much of what they are doing is rigged to go from bad to worse in 5 or 9 years.

Americas global standing will never be the same. Literally. We cannot enter any bargain in any sort of position of power anymore because NOBODY RESPECTS ANY NATION WHO BREAKS THEIR PROMISES. Diplomacy isnt a reality show.

So ask yourself how far you are willing america to slip into destruction.

Our parents and our grandparents dropped the ball. Democracy isnt something where you pick your pony and whatever happens, happens.

YOU ARE THE BOSS OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVES. ALWAYS. NOT JUST IN THE VOTING BOOTH.

America is either going to slide into a fascist hellscape ruled by those with the most guns and the most money, or Americans are going to accept that constant participation in their government is part of a healthy democracy.

Be aware of what issues are being discussed in congress and make sure your rep knows how you feel about it. If he doesnt listen to you, replace him.

The american government has the potential to be a shining beacon of example to the world, but it has been systematically broken over the past several decadea by those chosen to run it by the 25--35 percent of americans who have A LOT OF HATE and VOTE LIKE RELIGION.

There is an ever-shrinking chance for America to survive this administration intact. But all that it takes to save it is for every single american to view politics as a hobby, and for us to, as a whole country, show up to vote and make our voices heard to the best of our ability.

Protest when they make bad calls. Do it loudly and do it everywhere. Make them hear you or vote them out. It is that simple.

Stop thinking about the government as something you "pick" then "see what happens" and start looking at it as an unruly toddler that needs constant supervision; Voting is your official report card but the babysitters sure as hell are going to step in and stop them from eating too much cake (forcing bribed pols to resign) or playing with electricity (colluding with foreign governments) or having good manners (honestly WTAF ICE. Really?)

The fundamentalists will never change. They think the are entitled to live like this because *chest thump* PATRIOTISM or something.

But the normals outnumber them to such a degree that if everyone votes then the fundamentalist voices are always safely drowned out.

But you gotta protect that poor toddler.

Because IT IS SURE AS FUCK IN IMMEDIATE and CONSTANT DANGER for as long as the current batch of fundamentalista try to ride this erratic orange pony for personal profit.

So yeah. Think about it in a big picture. They are only ever 35% of the pop. Max, and they only get as much power as we have allowed them to finagel.

I know "politics" can be super intimidating to get into from nowhere or a "my dad votes this way so I vote this way" perspective. Start with reading articles directly from AP and politico. AP does a good job at getting relatively unbiased facts out. They are generally the folks getting political info directly from pols and administrations. Politico does a good job of fleshing out the history behind major happening in the news as it pertains to current events. These are two of the most widely trusted and least biased sources for raw political information, unless you can get a press pass and sit in the meetings yourself.

If you make a habit of reading current events and looking into questions you have by looking at history instead of asking folks in your bubble what they think about it the whole political world starts to connect in very tangible and obvious ways that seem like pure conspiracy theory to those that "arent into politics"