Always Been Politically Homeless

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 53:

3/2/23

Hi Bridget and crew

Thank you so much for creating this space and this platform. It is so wonderful to know that there's at least some sensible people online who are trying to make this a better world. I have always felt "Politically Homeless" and it has been such a comfort to have a word and a community for this phenomenon. Here's my story.

Since I was aware of our country's political system, I've felt that I don't belong in either camp. My family was divided when I was growing up. My mom's family were all uber-liberals from Northern California and my dad's family were all uber-conservatives from Utah. I thought that my Utah family would disown my father when he voted for Clinton in 1992. That was the first time I learned that this arbitrary divide was trouble. I grew up vacillating between the two extremes, feeling that neither side had the whole story. In 2000, it was my first presidential election I could vote in and feeling at a loss about which side to pick, I chose Bush. It was really just drawing names out of a hat for me. At the same time, I was supporting Jared Polis (now Colorado governor) in his campaign for mayor of Boulder, Colorado. I had to keep each political choice a secret from the people in my life on the other side. 

I couldn't understand why the lines drawn between parties seemed to also be divided between things like religion, home life, education, and a whole slew of things that should have nothing to do with politics. I started my career as an elementary teacher in 2002, just as Bush simultaneously started a war on the Middle East and a war on schools with NCLB. I had already formed my own belief system about the world and how "things" should be run, but the conclusions I had come to didn't fit any of the options. As a teacher, I believe firmly in the power and necessity of social programs, but at the same time believe that those social programs need to be run at the state, county, and city level with tax dollars, legislators, and people from those communities calling the shots. I want open borders, but I am also staunchly against out-sourcing because I want more jobs for Americans. I believe in small federal government, but big local government. I'm socially liberal but fiscally conservative. I am pro-choice, but also hold to the belief that the family is the greatest strength that we can give the next generation. 

I campaigned for Obama in 2008, and again in 2012, but found myself seriously considering Trump in 2020. I married a republican, and moved to an exclusively red county in rural Colorado, and my liberal friends thought I had sold my soul to the devil and given up on life. Meanwhile, the conservatives in my life consider me a "bleeding heart liberal." It has been a constant source of frustration for me for three decades that beliefs and ideologies have to be divided into two hard-and-fast choices by privileged old farts a world away in Washington. 

The first tipping point for me was Covid, as it was for a lot of people. The fact that masks and vaccines became politicized almost pushed me over the edge. We're talking about a flappy piece of cloth! Second, after I voted for Polis to become governor, after supporting him for the better part of 20 years, he started implementing extreme measures that meant more money in his pocket and less to public education. I felt so so betrayed. 

But I think the thing that has made me give up on the whole entire political world, the thing that has caused me to refuse to vote ever again, was seeing my beloved San Francisco. I grew up in the East Bay, with wonderful, magical memories of the city. I moved to Colorado in 1997, but make it back to Cali all the time. Through Covid, I went three years without seeing SF and my family there. When I went last summer, my heart was broken. Homelessness was rampant, just like the news said it was. And the homeless weren't living in the back streets off of Market or in the Mission - there were lean-to's and make shift shelters built right on the Wharf, in the middle of the most touristy part of San Francisco. I saw a homemade shelter made from the large back seats out of a mini-van and a corrugated tin roof. As I drove down Van Ness, tents were everywhere. The city smelled of garbage instead of salt water and eucalyptus. 

This is where a politicized world has brought us. Fighting over the small stuff (like pronouns and pieces of cloth) while beautiful cities are laid waste, and social supports (including public education) are flushed down the toilet, and the old farts in Washington get all the money. I think I'd rather have innocent, but heated, arguments at the holidays and a president whose "greatest sin" was getting a blow job. 

Sincerely,

Always Been 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.