By Robert Dean
Carter County Times
I want to tell you it’s ok to change your mind. That you’re allowed to say, “this isn’t what I signed up for,” and mean it. No one will shame you; instead, you’ll be welcomed with open arms, and there will be zero judgment. You’re allowed to look at your phone, disgusted, wondering how this is all happening. You’re also allowed to tell everyone you know, and not agree with those in your home, your church, or your community.
Donald Trump wasn’t a good president in his first run, and now? He’s a horror show. Every lie he told to get people to not vote for Kamala Harris is coming home to roost. This isn’t a pro-Harris opinion, either. Neither of them should have been on the ballot. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have our best interests in mind, and by shoveling us this elephant crap, they are doing nothing but saying, “here, doggy, take your political slop.” But clarification aside, it’s bad.
Groceries are still obscene. Minimum wage is still too low. Insurance is worthless; it’s a paycheck drain that still costs us money. The job market is awful, and every day, people realize that companies are trying to automate them out of a job. We invaded Venezuela for oil, two middle fingers up. We’re beefing with Iran. There was no DOGE money, there was no tariff money, and the tariffs continue to hurt American workers and jobs.
Now we’re being asked to entertain a proposal to buy Greenland — a territory clearly not for sale and a deal rejected emphatically by Denmark and Greenland’s own leaders — with estimates putting the potential price tag around $700 billion. That’s more than half of the U.S. defense budget for a deal most Americans don’t want, and the other nations involved flatly reject. With that same money, we could underwrite universal childcare — where today the average annual cost per child tops $13,000 — and still have tens of billions left over to attack homelessness, estimated at around $20-$30 billion to meaningfully reduce or end it. A $700 billion check could overhaul healthcare access, bolster education, and repair infrastructure — tangible investments in people’s lives that dwarf the abstract value of an Arctic land grab.
The entire argument about immigration is rooted in the fear of the other; immigrants are a convenient political boogeyman. The reason that suits harp on it so much is that it gives them leverage in doing something. You could round up every hard-working immigrant, put them in the system, tax them heavily, and all sins are forgiven. But people in cop cars look cool on camera. Sending ICE agents out to restaurants and to naturalization court isn’t doing the job; it’s creating chaos.
We’ve never been more divided. We all yearn for this pre-Internet version of our lives; we also have apologists who cannot believe Donald Trump, a television host with multiple failed businesses, isn’t the guy he pretends to be. The newest Epstein file drop is disgusting, and yet, there is no moral outrage. The Right wanted transparency, got it, and now refuses to believe their leader is culpable. These files came from his appointed government. They’re real. He believes you’re spineless for challenging him about his behavior.
All of it is tiring. It’s ok to say you’ve had enough. I don’t care if you vote Republican, despite my distaste for either party, but you’ve gotta have a long look in the mirror and realize this dude is bad for us and is only making things worse. Look, just walk away. The coalition of exhausted and annoyed won’t judge you. We’ll celebrate you.
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