Politically Homeless - No One Worth Voting For
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 45:
2/22/23
I grew up in a moderate, fiscally conservative, socially liberal Republican household in Los Angeles, CA. Yes, they do exist (or they did)!
I was constantly having my political views challenged by my school-aged peers growing up and teachers as well, but I did enjoy the debate most of the time. In college I became more aware of libertarian ideas and my political philosophy evolved a tad with the help of Thomas Sowell, Larry Elder and Milton Friedman.
When 2016 rolled around, I was hopeful for a Rand Paul presidential run, but found libertarian ideas unwelcome in the GOP with the nomination of Donald Trump. I joined the Libertarian Party and happily voted for Gary Johnson.
I remained a proud Libertarian until 2022 when the Mises Caucus took over the party leadership. If you’re wondering, they recently held an anti-war rally with Russian flags flying in the crowd. That’s just the most recent example of why I left the LP. I’m now an independent and politically homeless.
I grow less and less hopeful for a new political home, because online discourse has devolved into calls for actual socialism on the left and anything that “owns the libs” on the right. Conservatism is a meaningless term now. It’s just an identity that is in opposition to all ideas on the left. Those on the left are obsessed with identity politics and are essentially rejecting all anti-discrimination values I grew up on. Lastly, the Libertarian Party, named after the ideology I believe in, has been reduced to edge lording racists who associate with the worst ideologies around.
It’s all made me desire to be less political, especially online, where you can’t have a civil conversation, no matter how hard you try. Many people who I respected have drunk the Kool-Aid of one of these groups. I’ve always voted in every election, but at this rate, I don’t know if I’ll have anyone to vote for in 2024 and I worry that there will never be anyone worthy of voting for again.
Sincerely,
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.
Yay we have to connect! I thought I was the only politically moderate, libertarian-leaning person in Los Angeles. My letter is #42. Big Tomas Sowell fan here too, feeling very lonely indeed.
Rozemarijn97@yahoo.com (my name is Roze)
I know this feeling well. I had to vote for a party that I knew wouldn't win anything for moral reasons. Because I couldn't bring myself to vote for the ones who would. However, I can't say I agree with almost all of their platform ideas. But I agreed on at least one, which made it the only thing I could do.