Politically Homeless - So Confused & Sad

Real people, real letters, real problems, no solutions.

Politics these days have become so divided and divisive that it’s become the norm to view the other side of the aisle as “the enemy”. People are being told to “pick a side” and that there’s no room for middle ground. We here at Phetasy believe that there are a lot more people in the middle than politicians and the media would have us believe.

We’re collecting stories from the ever growing number of people who are finding themselves Politically Homeless and posting them here on Substack. If you have moved from conservative to liberal, or liberal to conservative, if you feel you’ve stayed in the same place and your party has swerved drastically away from you, if you had a moment that awakened you to the insanity and hypocrisy on both sides, if you keep your mouth shut anytime a political topic comes up because you’re afraid your opinion will cause you to lose friends or your job, you’re not as alone as you might think.

Our goal is to shine a light on people’s earnest, individual experiences and show them they’re not alone.

Some letters have been edited for clarity and brevity. If you’re politically homeless and would like to share your story, please email us at iampoliticallyhomeless@gmail.com. All submissions will remain anonymous.

Letter 20:

Dear Bridget, 

Thanks for creating such a generous, kind place to voice my sadness. Right now I’m sitting in my art studio hyperventilating and crying about the state of the world. I really don’t feel like I have too many people to talk to and my husband and I don’t agree about politics. It’s creating a lot of tension. My mom is at a care facility with dementia and the isolation for her, and us from her is extremely difficult.

I was just at my Zoom church service and had to turn off my video and my microphone and just wept and cried because I feel like I don’t even connect with my church anymore.  My church is primarily left leaning. And I heard statements about Republicans today that made me cringe. Plus I feel that the emotional landscape of my church has become highly manipulative.  It’s funny because I am primarily a minority (Asian) Most of my church is white. And I feel like my voice is not going to be heard.

To be frank, I’m in the creative field and never say much about politics in my professional connections, and I’ve been conservative most of my life, I did give the Democrats/third-party consideration about a decade ago, at some point I voted for Ralph Nader.

Now I just feel stupid and that everything I think is discounted, that  whatever I say will be seen as some sort of bigotry. I guess I just think about issues from several angles and all the angles feel like they’re sharp points aimed at me and others right now. When I speak I feel like I’m coming from a place of extreme sadness and defensiveness and I don’t like that about myself.

Thanks for providing a place just to voice a few things. I was talking to my mom on the phone, and she prayed with me and it’s a bit better but I’m just so sad and actually worried about the future of so many of my relationships.

I don’t know if it’s you who actually reads these emails but this space feels like a bit of a confessional. Thanks for being an in-between person in these really dark times.

Warmly,

Politically Homeless

Some letters have been edited for clarity and brevity. If you'd like to share your story, email us at iampoliticallyhomeless@gmail.com. All submissions will remain anonymous.