I have a dilemma. My dilemma is who I will vote for in the next presidential election. You see my dilemma is because of certain non negotiables. Before I talk about those, let me fill you in about political realities.

The truth is no candidate’s position you will agree with 100% of the time. So you end up choosing which of the candidates you agree with the most or to put it in negative terms, which candidate’s liabilities are you willing to accept more than the others.

So the argument goes that since our president will be elected from either the Democratic or Republican Party, then you only have two real choices. Therefore you decide which of the two candidates will make the better president.

It is a good argument as to the realities of our current system of presidential politics. The problem for me in this argument is what if you feel either candidate is so bad or the “non negotiables” of your convictions are violated by both candidates, then what do you do?

I have determined that if I am forced to vote this way then things will never change for the better. With all the registered independents, of which I am one, why can’t we cry out for more choices or better choices that reflect our beliefs?

In the last presidential election I couldn’t vote for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump because I felt both of them were so unacceptable and violated core convictions I hold dear. Some of the other major third party candidates I also couldn’t vote for so I was deeply disheartened by the choices available.

So what are these non negotiables? For one I am a very strong pro life believer. In my last blog I talked about the evidence that life begins at conception. Since overwhelmingly Democrats hold to a position that believes abortion for any reason is acceptable, those candidates will be ruled out for me. As a side note, bills that came up recently in New York and Virginia have strongly suggested that infanticide would be okay under certain circumstances. With strong Democrat support this kind of legislation makes us on par with some of the vilest regimes in history. In addition with many of the Democratic progressives arguing for a socialist type of economy, that position as well is an unacceptable non negotiable.

So now for our current president!!! My issues there have to do with the level of extremely questionable character that goes all the way back to the Republican primary of 2016 until the present. The list includes insulting a war hero like John McCain; attacking women’s looks; insensitivity to minorities; making fun of people with disabilities; condoning violence at rallies; constant lies that according to organizations that track that sort of thing is at a record not seen in any previous president; cozying up to dictators like Putin, Kim Jung Un, and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. There are more, but space prevents me from listing other objections.

I have read several political books this past year, some from Trump supporters, and others from Trump critics. One of the most interesting thing I read from a book written by someone who is a Trump supporter and was on the inside of the campaign stated that during the campaign an idea was floated around for Trump to announce that he changed his position on abortion back to pro choice. That idea was voted down because it was felt his evangelical base would revolt costing him the election. Did you hear that??? If Donald Trump really was a committed pro life candidate that idea should never even have been whispered. By the way a few years ago he was pro choice but I believe his conversion on this subject is not from a changed conviction but from political expediency.

While I believe that President Trump has done some good legislation, the amount of evidence I have read or witnessed in his speeches have convinced me that his overall political package violates my non negotiables.

So where do I go from here? Like a voice crying in the wilderness I pray for other options. Maybe a viable Republican candidate can oust President Trump in the primaries. I doubt that seriously but people should try. Maybe a very moderate Democrat will come forward who actually holds to some kind of pro life position.

But here is the final analysis for me. My vote is not going to be forced into the pigeon hole of only two choices. Even if I am the only one voting for some obscure candidate who I can truly live with politically, then I can go to sleep at night with a clear and peaceful conscience. Obviously if anyone reading this completely subscribes to “we only have two viable choices”, I respect that belief.

I am ultimately writing this so people who feel like me, won’t feel alone and will have the courage to say I will not be bullied into voting for anyone I believe is unfit or an unacceptable candidate. This kind of courage in time will hopefully become the norm. This is my prayer; my conviction; my passionate longing!!!