I rarely discuss political stuff with anyone, especially in this blog, because frankly, there currently are too many people taking sides and angrily chastising those who don’t agree with their political viewpoints. And to be perfectly honest, this highly charged political landscape has rapidly been leading me to not want to vote at all in the upcoming Presidential election, especially because I’m not even convinced the results aren’t going to be tampered with. Then suddenly one day recently, I received an application in the mail for an absentee ballot that I hadn’t even requested, from some non-profit voting organization in Columbus, Ohio, and it motivated me enough to at least to talk about it here in my writing.
When I first received this application for an absentee ballot, I truly thought it was some sort of fraudulent thing just to get my personal information. Having been a victim of multiple types of fraud prior, including my SSN getting stolen and illegal tax forms being filed with it from some unknown culprit, I was about to throw the voting application away until I looked up the address on the return envelope and realized it actually was legit. I then pondered for several days after that whether I should fill it out or not.
I’m quite sure a number of my friends, as well as a number of those I only know through Facebook, would say it’s totally absurd I would even consider not voting in our upcoming Presidential election, specifically given the current state of our country. But, when you discover, like I did in the last election, that a friend’s daughter, who wasn’t of legal voting age, had still been on their district’s voter registration sheets and had already cast their vote, I questioned how legitimate our voting process really was and how much was a sham. More importantly though, it’s bothered me ever since I had first become of legal voting age that my vote actually doesn’t even go directly towards what ultimately counts, and really is only factored into some electoral college process that I still to this day don’t even understand. So, really, my deeper truth is that I’ve been apolitical for a very long time and have rarely voted over the years because of it. That feeling has only grown stronger over the past two decades, as I’ve continued to watch more and more dissolution in our country come from citizens bashing each other for being Republican or Democrat and having differing opinions from each other.
The fact is, I have many friends who are presently backing Trump and I have many friends who are presently backing Biden. I also have many friends who will flip off and negatively comment on any Biden signs they see along the road and I have many friends who will flip off and negatively comment on any Trump signs they see along the road. Frankly, I find the whole thing pretty silly and don’t care either way, as I love both sets of friends and refuse to take sides. My deepest truth is that I’m simply sick and tired of everyone bashing each other in this highly charged political landscape. I’m sick and tired of people trying to prove to me how insanely idiotic they feel Trump is, just as much as I’m sick and tired of people trying to prove to me how old and clueless they feel Biden is.
Here’s my reality. It doesn’t matter to me who’s going to be the next President of the United States because I still am going to be myself no matter who gets elected. I still am going to treat others exactly as I was prior to this election. I’m not going to become any different inside myself just because of who ends up being the one to lead our country over the next four years.
So, what I’m really trying to say is this. If you happen to be someone who’s a judgmental, negative, or angry type of person now when it comes to our present political landscape, you’ll continue to remain that way once the election is over, no matter who wins. Why? Because your judgments, negativity, and anger aren’t because of something outside of you, it’s because of something going on within you. You merely are buying into the illusion that your life will feel better inside because something outside ends up changing or remaining the same, such as in this upcoming Presidential election.
In the end, I’m still going to be the same Andrew Arthur Dawson I was before the election, once it’s over. In the end, my inner world isn’t going to change one bit just because Trump or Biden wins or loses. My outer world will ONLY ever change when my inner world changes. That’s why I do my best EVERY, SINGLE, DAY, to work on loving and accepting everyone unconditionally, whether they are Republican or Democrat, whether they have political viewpoints that align with my own or don’t, whether they will vote or not, or whether anything really.
So, while I did send in that application for an absentee ballot, whether I end up voting or not in our upcoming Presidential election isn’t what really matters. What matters is me learning to love and accept everyone for all their own individual uniqueness’s, which includes Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris. Because deep down, I believe we’re all children of something far Greater, we’re all connected somehow, and I feel it’s my job to love everyone equally and unconditionally…no matter what.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
