I love my spouse and my children more than I can put into words. I care about my neighborhood, my city, my state, and my country. But I cannot reconcile other choices I make.
If a man were to break into my house, would I reward that behavior by sharing the limited resources I have for my family and my children with him? Yet I vote for a president and a party that reward that behavior with our country's limited resources and taxes.
My children come home from school every day but still cannot read or write. I want to send them to a better school, but I cannot afford it. Why then do I vote for representatives determined to keep my children in these broken schools while denying my family more favorable choices?
My daughter was attacked and sexually assaulted. I want to protect my children, but I vote for district attorneys who will release dangerous people right back into our community and politicians that want to reduce the police presence in our neighborhoods.
I want to move to a safer neighborhood, but I cannot afford it. Why then do I vote for a political party that continuously floods our streets with undocumented immigrants and drugs, rewarding this behavior with promises of free medical care, housing, and education that I cannot provide for my own family?
If my son and daughter refuse to work for their allowances, I will not pay them. Why then do I vote for people who want to reward those bad choices with social services that my family and my children then become dependent on?
I ask for safer neighborhoods, better housing, better schools, better jobs every Election Day, and we never receive any of that. Yet I continue to vote for the same representatives who live in nice houses outside our neighborhoods and send their kids to private schools. For decades I voted for the same politicians, and we get the same results. What is wrong with me?
I demand they do something, and they tell me they cannot because the bad conservatives are doing things to hurt us. They hate us; they're racists, bigots, homophobes, and xenophobes. They tell me it is their fault.
But I don't know who these conservatives are; I never see them in our neighborhoods. I do not vote for them. There are none in my city government. The mayor is not a conservative. My congressman is not a conservative; I do not know how much a senator has to do with these issues, but mine are liberals, too. Our teachers are liberal; our church leaders are liberal. How can these "conservatives" have such a huge impact on my life? And why cannot the people in charge, the people I voted for, help with the issues?
Yet, every election cycle, I choose to believe that this time, it will be different.
I am so conflicted and confused; how can I vote for policies that I would never allow my family to exercise while expecting things to change for the better?
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