Looking for a new political home (maybe?). Am I Libertarian? buckle in, it’s a long one.

A little background. I grew up in a conservative household and a lot of that that mentality stuck with me basically through the 2020 election. I listened mainly to Ben Shapiro, Rush, and a little bit of Tim Pool over the last several years, I would also read articles from CNN, Politico, Washington Post etc. to see what was being said on the other end of the political spectrum. I’m not a very political person, but I tried to keep up a bit. I’ve always been pro LGBTQ, equal rights, 1st and 2nd amendment, free market capitalism, and fiscal conservatism.

Please hold back on any roasting, I am not interested in a political debate, I am simply trying to find my place in this overly political world and I am letting out a stream of consciousness. I am not politically intellectual, so many flaws in my thinking can probably be easily dismantled.

I voted for Trump (gasp!) because I approved of pre-pandemic economic and job growth. I was very happy that he worked to dismantle Obamacare (it very negatively effected me). Prison reform. I liked his tough stance on immigration. I liked that he was tough on foreign enemies without starting a conflict. I thought that his covid response was sufficient given the circumstances, I’m talking about ramping up and delivering supplies/vaccine research (though his mouth was intolerable). I was shaken by the out of control riots after George Floyd’s murder (please continue reading for more thoughts on this).

To share my level of passion for politics; I really felt nothing when Biden won, I basically shrugged and said “hopefully he does a decent job.”

Since the election was decided, I made a conscious effort to vastly reduce my consumption of news. I stopped listening to podcasts/radio altogether and I spent perhaps 20 minutes per week looking at news headlines.

I now feel as though a veil has been lifted and that I have been blinded by my own habit of subscribing to conservative talking points. I am thinking truly for myself, politically, for perhaps the first time. I largely ignored the state of race relations with my voting decision.

I have been making a strong effort to better understand the response to George Floyd’s murder, and the true brutal history of the Civil Rights Movement in general. I suddenly found myself disgusted with Donald Trump and my decision to vote for him. He did nothing to ease racial tension when his leadership was needed most. I am only now beginning to understand why people call him a racist. I didn’t understand that some of the subtle statements he has made had undertones that would fire up and encourage a fringe, cult like following. I am beginning to understand that the riots (while I still oppose them) were a response to not being heard. Instead of committing to working on a solution to police brutality, Trump doubled down and ramped up racial tensions even further by defending police more than the people they had brutalized and murdered.

I do still support law enforcement, but I believe (and have believed) that there are deep deep problems, which overwhelmingly effect minorities, that need to be addressed and fixed.

If I could do it all over again, I would have voted for everyone but president. I have way too many issues with Biden and Harris to have brought myself to voting for them. I don’t want this to turn into a book, so I’m not going to get into it.

I cannot bring myself to associate with the Republican Party anymore.

For the following I use the word “ideology” because I think that both parties are inconsistent in a lot of ways.

What I dislike about the Democrat ideology:

-Support for raising minimum wage -Trade agreements that lead to outsourcing -Their overwhelming, biased support from news and social media. I think that this has a large impact on elections -Immigration Policy -Their relentless push for gun control measures -Cancel culture and extreme wokeness. I don’t care for the use of terms such as “white privilege” but I do recognize and accept what it is. I just personally believe that it is often used in a spiteful way that shuts down productive discourse.

What I like:

-The effort to improve the environment (though I think the Green New Deal is a terrible plan financially) -Pro LGBTQ and human rights -Pro Choice -Effort to improve race relations, police reform

What I dislike about Republican ideology:

-Their lack of effort to bring racial unity and resistance to ending qualified immunity for police. -Opposition to same sex marriage -Opposition to legalizing drugs -Their stance on abortion. I think abortion is a terrible thing, but I (male) believe there are circumstances that women experience that I cannot comprehend, therefore I am pro-choice.

What I like:

-Tax cuts -Pro 2A -Tough on illegal immigration -Pro military (if for peace, not for war) -Support for states rights and limiting federal powers (I know, yeah right) -Keeping and creating American jobs

So tell me, am I anywhere near a libertarian?