This is likely going to be a long post so bear with me.



First, a little backstory that does build to a point - eventually -



Over a month ago, I had quite a few back and forth discussions with one of the owners of ATS here at which time I said, ya know what, just delete my account. We had some more back and forth, so I stepped back and employed some introspection; my conclusion? Wrong approach. With what seemed to me to be a hearty helping of "Trumpism" on here left a bad taste in my mouth, mostly because I'm an extremely pragmatic guy.



During this introspection, I began questioning myself as to my original reasons for voting Trump. Was it because I loved him? Hell no, since the early 90's I thought he was a scumbag. Was it because I thought he was intelligent enough to actually do the job? Nope, and he keeps proving that assessment correct on a daily basis. So what the hell was it?



To answer my own question at the time, I needed to do 2 things, one of them was revisit my youth. In earlier years I remember getting in trouble... a LOT. Most of those things were legally....sketchy. What I also remember from that time were the cops, and I would say a greater percentage of the time they knew what I was doing, but let me off with a warning and, at time, bringing the attention of what I had done to my parents for the more severe infractions. What that did for me though, were 2 fantastic life lessons: 1) that sometimes you need to let people get away with things and 2) sometimes breaking SOME laws has a greater good in the end. The TL;DR of this to me was, dont encroach humans free will so long as they aren't harmful to themselves or others; we have no need for the robotic society it seems quite a few are vying for these days.



The second thing I needed to do (and DID do) was embed myself deeply in the Left, far-left and neo-liberal elements of the world, from twitter (which I despise) to instagram to facebook...all with an assumed identity that I could easily forget about and leave forever untouched again. I already had plenty of disdain for the way the Right, Alt-Right and neo-conservative movements were operating, so I felt the need to re-educate myself on how the "other side" operated. What did I find? Not a damn thing. That they operated IDENTICALLY in their mutual disrespect for anyone elses viewpoints. Perhaps the left side being a bit more vitriolic than the right, but that could be due to my focus on it.



A summary of some of the topics I participated in:

#MeToo

#BoycottNRA

#Neveragain

#Parkland

#Emma4change



Ignorance is RAMPANT with respect to - firearms, due process, what constitutes sexual abuse vs predation vs pedophelia vs normal exchange of human interaction, corporate espionage vs voicing disdain for a comnpanies position; the list goes on.



The above is not to denigrate anyone left-leaning, but to voice MY displeasure with my inability to reconcile my original vote to my current days feelings about it.



One of the topics close to my heart is firearms and the second amendment. The second amendment was never designed with hunting in mind; it wasnt designed with plnking in mind; it wasnt designed with paper targets in mind. It was designed with a militia in the (hopefully never necessary) cataclysmic event that a despotic or tyrannical government, namely ours, needs to be overthrown and re-established. It is in black and white, yet some want to argue the meaning of it....why? It is in BLACK and WHITE, there was little room for interpretation there.



#MeToo....what about #NotMe instead of the mob rules mentality?



#Emma4change the media is basically LETTING prepubescents decide policy...POLICY of which they are woefully ignorant, their horror notwithstanding in Parkland. Yet, they are shielding themselves against the backdrop of aforementioned teens just so that they could "get their way".



There are MANY dangerous precedents being set these days when news cycles run in the MINUTES not even hours. Disarming the population is dangerous while never arming psychopaths is 100% necessary. Allowing people lives to be destroyed by accusations and throwing due process to the wind is dangerous . Allowing teens (with ZERO life experience in either the Constitution, what it TRULY means to fight for rights and not just "tweet stuffs", compromise and reaching a solution) to determine policy is dangerous .



Still, I am a moderate down-the-middle pragmatist, and one word kept creeping into my psyche: Disenfranchisement. Donald Trump represented someone who would try to get away with little things here and there (like my youth reminds me). He didn't seem to embrace left or right ideology. Donald Trump said all the right words...his message resonated with a LOT of people.



Looking back, I regret my decision for the good of the NATION, but equally I understand why I voted for him...disenfranchisement. His message was right on, he just was NOT the right messenger.



I dont know who the right messenger is, to be honest I'm not thoroughly convinced there IS a "correct messenger" anymore...what I DO know is that I want my country back because it IS gone....for now.