Prior to the 2016 presidential election, I was a happily uninvolved voter. I dutifully voted in all presidential and Senate elections. Downstream races and mid-terms elections, not so much.

In my first presidential election in 1984, I voted for Ronald Reagan. I’ve voted for all Republican presidential and most Republican Senate nominees ever since.

The 2016 campaign was like watching a gut-wrenching season of roller derby. Everything about it felt unprecedented. Donald Trump’s campaign was a daily sideshow of bad behavior. I never believed he’d win the nomination. I kept waiting for my fellow Republicans to wake up and come to their senses. I’d thought the lions of the Senate, the institutionalists in the House, the serious-minded law-and-order GOP party would surely step in to stop the craziness. But, no. It was Clinton v. Trump.

Very near election day, Hillary Clinton was announced to be under investigation again by the FBI. Holy cow! That seemed pretty ominous to me. That was a game-changer. You can’t elect a president who is under FBI investigation, can you?

In Florida, many of us vote via mail-in ballots. While I had never seriously considered voting for Donald Trump, a federal investigation into the possible president-elect was too much for me. I held my nose, and voted for Trump, as well as Marco Rubio for Senate, trusting that the checks and balances integral in a democracy were in place and would hold.

I mailed my ballot in before I could change my mind. I remember thinking, How bad could it be? There are guardrails, right? It’ll be fine!

Trump attacks Will and Grace actor as US braces for 'catastrophic' hurricane Dorian

Since Trump was elected, I’ve had what I refer to as my political rude awakening. I could no longer be blissfully unaware or uninterested in politics. How can you ignore this administration’s 24/7 chaotic, frenetic shit-show? Every day is a new outrage, a new abuse, a new way to marginalize and divide people. Every day is a new level of lawlessness and self-serving greed.

Trump and his followers have worked to game the system for their political and financial gain. There are no guardrails. There are no checks and balances. Legal subpoenas? Trump says ignore them, or make up some bogus immunity claim. Trump and Barr spit in the face of our legal system as our elected leaders — Democrats and Republicans alike — refuse to hold this administration accountable.

My politics and involvement in the political process have been irrevocably changed. The Republicans have all bought into Trump’s chaos, lies, bullying and rage-tweeting. “Great,” they say, “his base loves him.” They’re all complicit. The abject cruelty to immigrants and others of brown and black skin are perfectly acceptable to Republicans, as long as they win the next election and continue to hold power. The sheer lawlessness and incompetence are staggering.

Trump and the Republican Party have become anathema to everything I hold dear. This political era has instilled an outrage and activism in me I never knew existed. My personal politics of “moderate and reasonable government” feel like they are no longer welcome in the Grand Old Party.

In 2018, I reached my personal “point of no return”. The craziness kept piling on. Families separated at our southern border and children in cages, the Parkland massacre, the ongoing Mueller investigations: the hits kept coming. My last straw was Trump’s Helsinki debacle. I couldn’t take it any more.

Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Show all 30 1 /30 Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Members of the Proud Boys, a fascist group, jeer at anti-Trump protesters outside of the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A supporter dressed as Uncle Sam poses at Uncle Sam Reuters Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A baby blimp rears its head amidst a group of anti-Trump protesters outside the president't campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam President Trump addresses supporters at the launch event of his 2020 election campaign in Orlando, Florida Reuters Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Proud Boys have adopted Fred Perry polo shirts as their uniform and many members have the name of the group tattooed on their arms Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A line of police officers separate opposing groups of protesters outside the launch of President Trump's 2020 campaign launch Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A protester hits a Trump punching bag during a protest outside Trump's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Twin Trump supporters pose for a photo at the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Reuters Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A protester dressed as a caricature of Donald Trump stands outside the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida AP Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A Trump supporter faces off against a protester outside the president's campaign launch in Orlando, Florida AFP/Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A Proud Boy shouts across the police line at anti-Trump protesters outside the president's campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A Trump supporter poses for a photo at the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Reuters Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A Proud Boy jeers at anti-Trump protesters who are separated from the president's supporters by a police line outside the president's campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A man dressed as Uncle Sam poses at President Trump's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Reuters Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam An anti-Trump protester faces off against a supporter outside the president's campaign launch in Orlando, Florida AFP/Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Members of the Proud Boys, a fascist group, jeer at anti-Trump protesters outside of the president's 2020 campaign launch Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A child holds a 2020 US "dollar bill" that features Donald Trump's face at the president's 2020 campaign launch EPA Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Anti-Trump protesters rally outside the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Anti-Trump protesters rally outside the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Numerous baby Trump balloons are raised in protests outside of the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A supporter wears a T-shirt depicting Trump as a hero at the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Reuters Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam President Trump addresses supporters at the launch event of his 2020 election campaign in the Amway Centre in Orlando, Florida AFP/Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam An anti-Trump protester calls for the president to be impeached outside the launch event for his 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Supporters of Donald Trump face off against protesters outside of the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida AP Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A baby blimp rises behind a group of anti-Trump protesters outside the president's campaign launch in Orlando, Florida AP Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A supporter dressed as Uncle Sam poses at President Trump's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida AP Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A member of the Proud Boys, a fascist group, holds a sign up outside of the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida AFP/Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam A supporter bears a Trump flag at the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Reuters Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam Protesters hold baby Trump balloons in the rally outside of the president's 2020 campaign launch in Orlando, Florida Getty Trump 2020 launch: Fascist Proud Boys, baby blimps and Uncle Sam An anti-Trump protester holds a sign accusing the president of being a traitor Getty

I had to do something. First, I changed my Florida voter registration from Republican to Democrat. For the 2018 mid-terms, I educated myself on all the races and candidates on my ballot. I checked their support of common-sense gun reforms. I researched their healthcare positions. I started to show up and get involved with issues important to me, my family and my community.

I’d taken for granted an America that was the world’s leading democracy, a believer in human rights and a nation that valued the melting pot that made us the envy of all. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a presidency like this one.