Why I won't vote

Now, many people on either side of the aisle would argue this isn’t a hard decision. They’ll tell you passionately that this is an election for the soul of America, repeating the Biden campaign’s mantra. And both sides will tell you that not voting is a vote for the other guy. They’ll also tell you the other candidate represents an existential threat to the foundations of our democracy. But many of us independents, libertarians, centrists, moderates, the politically homeless — whatever dirty word you want to label those of us who don’t fall into the Red/Blue binary — see totalitarianism encroaching from all sides, cultural and political.

The upcoming election perfectly reflects the dire condition we are in as a nation. Most days, I find it too upsetting to face head on. Somehow it’s even more depressing than it was in 2016. Perhaps it’s because we know exactly what we will get when we hold our noses and register our votes. Or perhaps it’s because America as we knew it is already gone. And those of us in the center are watching someone we love circle the drain, feeling powerless to stop them from destroying themselves, and hoping their rock bottom isn’t death. But realizing…it might be.