What The Actual F Are We Doing? - 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 57:

September 13, 2023

Thank you for providing this space to vent for those of us standing watching America burn.

Quick background: I was raised in a conservative, Republican home in a crucial swing state, and like you at church when you were a kid, Bridget, got my hand slapped if I asked too many questions about things. That made me less inquisitive and more accepting of what I was being told, but as I got older, I realized my eyes still worked and after a while, I started believing them more. 

My political position is still pretty right on some issues (as little government involvement as possible, pro 2A and free speech for EVERYONE) but farther left than my parents on others (I'm pro-choice, pro legal weed.) They used to be able to view and talk politics with nuance, but have gone all in on Trump, which I never did, so we try to avoid discussing him. Even though I cast my ballot for him in 2016 (I didn't vote FOR him so much as AGAINST Hillary Clinton), in 2020, I voted third party, which really pissed my parents off, as they basically called me stupid and said I "may as well have voted for Biden." They asked me why I didn't like Trump during a discussion we were having but then when I started to answer, launched into all the reasons I was wrong, even though I hadn't even made it through my first reason. Because fuck nuance and dissent, apparently, which ironically, they continually complain about happening on the left.

Fast forward to today, I continually find myself asking the question I pose in the subject line of this email. Anyone with eyes can see Biden is not a well man, and by not a well man I mean if he worked literally any other job on the planet, he would have been forced into retirement and stuffed in a home somewhere a long time ago. The fact that his dismal approval ratings are as high as they are is mindboggling, but not after you consider that our society is so broken that all they now see in the voting booth is "D" and "R" and it's one or the other, and never the twain shall meet. Looking at the other side, you've got a man that was so despised by most of the country, they voted for the aforementioned Old-in-Chief (love Dumpster Fire, btw) who cannot function enough to do any job, let alone be the president of the United States. I don't know how people can't get it through their heads that no matter who is on the other side, there are enough voters who will not vote for Trump under any circumstances and he needs to just go away.

Between Biden/Trump, the transgender movement that's driving people away because they can't let well enough alone, trying to bring COVID back, and everything else that's just backwards in this country, how are there not more people screaming from the rooftops:

WHAT THE ACTUAL F ARE WE DOING??

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.