The audio version is not just a direct read of this - it’s off-the-cuff, more detailed, and will have you sat for 1.5 hours, ha. I do let the F-word slip a time or two, as a warning.
I never really liked anything to do with politics, nor did I understand it, ha. Like, give me Holocaust history and Anne Frank all day long, but the difference between Republican and Democrat? I could not be bothered.
When I registered to vote, there was a registration table at the high school for the seniors and I remember my husband, who I was dating at the time, was like, “you’re registering Democrat, right?!?” and I was like, “I don’t even know what the means.”
His family were hardcore southern democrats and I registered as unaffiliated - I’m still shocked that that wasn’t a deal-breaker right there. LOL.
I guess I just never thought it was important enough to care. I couldn’t have told you how my parents voted until a few years ago, it just wasn’t something we talked about.
Obama was my favorite and got my vote both times but then, because I was surrounded by the people I was and the culture I am, I vote for Trump in 2016 - mostly because I was uninformed, but partially because he reminded me of my Grandpa and I thought, “how bad could this be?”
[The audio version has WAY more on my background and how I went from “I voted for Trump in 2016” to “I am so anti-Trump it isn’t funny”]
It was kind of a slow burn - I quickly decided I didn’t like Trump, like at all, but over the next 4 years, I learned and researched, deconstructed a lot of my beliefs and landed on the fact that Christian Nationalism (not to be confused with Christianity as a whole ‘cause I’m all for er’body having the right to be whatever religion they choose as long as they don’t force it on others) is a HUGE threat to this country and that the MAGA movement is a cult.
Point blank, I will die on those hills - one foot on each hill.
When we really look at WHY I decided to be more vocal about politics, right before the election this time, it’s because *I* know, probably better than most, that when we can see ourselves in someone else it can completely change us.
In business, a huge turning point for me was seeing another southern girl KILL it in a web design business. When I was working through my beliefs and figuring out what I actually believed, not what I was told to believe, it was other people who were similar to me that made me say, “hm, I ALLOWED to think this way”.
So, when we think about the fact that most Trumpers are in areas like mine, I feel like maybe, just maybe, someone can see themselves in me and start to question things too.
Most people here (or in small towns like mine) who aren’t MAGA can’t stand up, they can’t be vocal, they can’t tell people where they stand; I’ve lost friendships JUST because of where I stand since I started sharing, I KNOW that my kids’ friends parents think twice before they let them come to our house, and other people are worried about their jobs.
But I CAN be a bit more vocal - for the people in my town who can’t, for the younger people in my town who are likely only seeing one side at home but follow me on social, for the people like 2016 Jessica who just vote a certain way because everyone else does, and for the people who think that their Christianity is tied to a political party.
MY TOWN is a lot of the reason I decided to share, but that’s honestly not the only reason.
I truly believe it’s our purpose to leave this world better than we found it, and as a parent, it’s my job to raise good humans.
A better world, to me, looks like people not forcing their religion on others, people loving who they want to love, people of all ethnicities and backgrounds not being demonized, and misinformation being stopped (or at least called out).
Raising good humans means that they’re empathetic, that they know how to think for themselves and don’t get sucked into culty situations, that they’re kind to everyone, that they’re inquisitive, that they know HOW to think (and that I’m not just telling them WHAT to think), that they can take up for themselves, that they are good husbands in the future, and that they will not be afraid to speak up for people who can’t.
And being open about where I stand and, honestly more importantly, what I stand against works towards both of those goals.
I am REALLY good at seeing both sides, understanding where people are coming from, and having conversations without getting heated, so I think I have some unique gifts that might be what someone needs to snap out of the Cult of Trump (there is a book on the Cult of Trump that’s really good that I’ll link here).
We all have our gifts, ya know? Like, some people are out here able to fight the masses with their words like Monte Mader, some people call out the BS straight to it’s face like Good Trouble, some people use a mix of humor and name calling like Andr3wsky, some people can make anything funny and relatable like Sara, but I think my REAL power is in knowing where people are coming from, using that to help them see something they haven’t seen before, and hopefully having a good conversation (with some humor too).
I haven’t even dipped my toe in actually sharing on the Internet - like, honestly, I’ve shared OTHER people’s work (reels, tiktoks, threads) with some commentary because I’m still a little scared, ha.
BUT, when I really think about my purpose, my gifts, and how I want to accomplish my purpose with my gifts, I KNOW that a big step for me is going to be creating videos like this one where I expose an issue maybe people didn’t see before, explain it, and accomplish my goal video by video. Like, not DIRECTLY political, because that’s still not my expertise, but politically and religiously adjacent topics that make people think outside of their normal thought process.
And, if I’m going to do that - if THAT is my purpose, I have GOT to get more comfy talking about this stuff and being CONFIDENT in where I stand.
Between that, trying to show up for my small town, realizing my gifts, and understanding my purpose - THAT is why I decided to start being more vocal.
Has there been pushback? Maybe a little. I had someone call me delusional in my DMs the other day, ha; I’ve lost “friends” (more like acquaintances), I know it doesn’t make it crazy easy on my husband (he’s a pastor at a church, ha), and I’m certain I’m the topic of conversation at several dinner tables (including my own family’s, ha), but the POSITIVE response has been better/more, and that’s the whole.freakin’.goal.
I don’t plan to be a political correspondent or anything like that - that’s not my bag, but when I can share things that I think accomplish (or work towards) my goals, I will.
So many of you asked me to share my why because YOU also want to share but are scared, or you started off neutral and now don’t want to be anymore, and I need you to know that you don’t HAVE to share what you’re not comfortable with (but complete silence may be mistaken for a red MAGA hat), and you SURE don’t have to share a lot. I think there’s this other expectation that is also a little scary that we all need to be outraged about everything but, first, that’s impossible, and second, that’s insane. YOU may be more passionate about issue #1 and I might be more passionate about issue #72, that is OK, and if anybody tells you you HAVE to talk about anything, tell them to bug off because the last thing we need in this world is more misinformation and that’s what we’re going to get when we talk about things we don’t really know about, ya know?
Truth is a CORE principal of mine - it bites me in the ass A LOT because I value TRUTH over a lot of other things, but again, that’s a strength of mine - if I know that’s part of the mission (fighting misinformation), then I know that that’s part of the mission on either side of the isle. Imma call out a girl from high school who’s sharing an AI photo of Trump “rescuing” people from the flood (hahaha), and I’m also going to call out a fabricated Truth Social post that someone I agree with politically shares on Threads because, in my opinion, the MAGA world needs to make shit up or skew things to do what they are doing (get elected, look like they want to look, etc), but the other side doesn’t and we don’t need to be contributing to the problem.
Now, I say all of this and I need you to know something REALLY important. If you are someone who disagrees with me and wants to have a CIVIL conversation (I will not entertain attitude or garbage), my DMs are open - I LOVE that, ask anyone who’s done exactly that! I have had so many tough, real, raw conversations with people since I’ve been online that have helped ME see a different perspective (and sometimes even change my mind), and I will ALWAYS be open to that as long as it remains civil.
It’s our first time on earth…at least I think, ha…we are all figuring this out, and, honestly, NOT having conversations is what got us here.
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