It take a lot of courage to admit a change of heart and to allow information to change your perspective. I’m glad you found your way to critically think. No party is perfect but I definitely don’t want to be part of the party that doesn’t value caring, empathy, and facing the truth even when it’s difficult.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful commentary on your political history - and to elucidate it in such an insightful way. I agree with the other comments who called this courageous. And thank you for your daily musings as well
If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading "The Destructionists" by Dana Milbank and "It Was All A Lie" by Stuart Stevens and watching "The Brainwashing of My Dad." I think you will find a lot of valuable information and even entertainment in these three places. I applaud you for your evolution and cheer you on your journey,
Thank you for writing this. When I see what's happening in our country today, I want to cry. To think that a convicted felon is using the office of the presidency to enrich himself and his family, I feel physically sick. I grew up in NY and knew what Trump was. I couldn't believe he was elected the first time and after Jan 6th, I thought he'd never see the Oval Office again, but I was so wrong. He has no moral compass and believes in nothing except how to make himself richer. What a sad state of affairs!
Thank you soo much Ally! You have given this old (67, is that old?) Homo some much needed hope in this current climate. I hope you know how much your voice is desperately needed these days! Keep sharing your story with others who may have ears to hear it!
So glad that you see that the Dems are indeed trying to help. And most of all, I am happy that you see empathy is not a weakness but a strength. I agree with Chong-Anna, it takes a lot of courage to change and allow the facts to dictate to your beliefs, not beliefs to dictate your facts. Bravo and have a great day!
As a grandparent of a 14-year-old (totally liberal and very scared, btw) I do understand how you grew into this, and I am blown away by the strength it took you to see through the Orwellian world of lies, but unfortunately, most who follow your path during their youth never see the light, and with the GOP spending half a century fighting against education (I do not include religious homeschooling as education) many if not most youngsters did not have the gumption, nor the smarts to follow your path, and they are now the electorate. I do not know if there will be enough of us to resist the clear descent into autocracy. There weren't enough in my mother's Germany during an eerily similar political landscape. So please fight to continue to be heard and seen. Odysseys like yours are our only hope.
Way to go Ally. The Democrats may not be perfect, but when it comes to trying to make the country a better more kind and generous place to live, they take the cake. Unfortunately, the Republican Party is now a cult afraid to stand up for the rights of citizens. That will never be who America is.
Being a life long Democrat, I rarely agreed with Republicans, but I understood our tensions could be healthy for Democracy. I watched the Republicans transform slowly as attacks became more racist, outlandish, personal and cruel. When Trump burst on the scene, he rode that wave like a champion surfer and parlayed it into the MAGA movement making the bipartisanship of the past almost all but impossible. I am so sad and frightened about where we are today. How will this end?
Anyway, I appreciate hearing your journey since MAGA family and friends of mine can only engage me (if we are speaking at all) with insults that seem to emerge from an alternative universe. It could not be easy for you and I suspect you lost some friends along the way. I wish you a bright future, especially if we can get to the other side of this fascist nightmare. Stay in the light. ❤️
I'm sorry but I can't find empathy for anyone who ever voted for Trump. You all can attack me but I could never vote for anyone with his lack of empathy, morale compass and no soul. I'm glad you have "seen the light" but I'll never understand how anyone thought Sandy Hook was a setup. That to me is just too hard to comprehend that be cause you were a conservative your belief system was that screwed up. Come on haters I'm ready for you!
Ally is waaay more courageous than I could be to share the depths of which she's come from, on the internet. The fact that she's laid herself bare is enough for me to have empathy for her, and anyone else who finds their way out of that fog.
I think it's important to realize these people are victims of a decades-long, right-wing agenda to immerse them in propaganda, conspiracy theories and lies. They are not simply parroting what their parents say; it's much more complicated than that. Please see the books and movie I recommended to Ally in this thread and consider reading and/or watching them. You will see how we got where we are now, which can seem like a total mystery. In other words, IT WAS ON PURPOSE.
💯 these states now funding private & religious schools are part of it.
Not only do the religious private schools (who only serve wealthy kids to start with) keep charging tuition, but get our tax dollars now too! It’s absurd the way republicans manipulate the already racist school systems & then try to scream religious bias. Bull crap. They only do what profits them.
I respect this. Kathleen, no haters here. Put your dukes down. It's OK for you to feel the way you do. I don't agree with you, because better we have Ally on our side late than never, but we are not them. We don't attack others because they have a differing opinion than our own.
I am glad that Ally is on our side and I am not attacking anyone. I just find it hard to believe anyone would listen to Trumps' hate. I know conservatives who do not hate and are not conspiracy theorists.
Kathleen, this is going to be a little lengthy because I truly empathize with what you’ve said you are feeling. I’m there myself, still trying to work out my fight or flight response and as yet vacillating between them.
I sincerely wish to offer a few suggestions that have helped me navigate this justifiably righteous anger we share about remotely accommodating or forgiving anyone who has been being privy to personally observing that sociopath’s immorality and hateful rhetoric in real time and not being so immediately disgusted - full stop! - to obviously conclude without reservation that that soulless ghoul should absolutely not be allowed anywhere near the levers of power and influence egregiously given to him. Over our entire country. Impacting every person on the planet!
And I believe those of us who live consciously have all struggled with this; of giving even a moment more of even reticent grace to those who were so easily bamboozled by such a cheap and grotesque conman - not only knowing who and what that monster is, but actually celebrating the dark destructive cruelty he has unleashed.
I concur with others’ suggestions to read Stuart Stevens’s book It Was All a Lie and watch The Brainwashing of My Father doc. Both excellent and informative.
I’ll offer further recommendations to check out the work of forensic psychiatrist and violence expert Dr. Bandy X Lee who has a Substack newsletter, fantastic spotlights with Anthony Davis of Five Minute News and other interviews on YouTube and to cult expert Dr. Stephen Hassan’s book The Cult of Trump and his other works on Freedom of Mind.
Dr Lee speaks to the dangers of mass psychosis being contagious at societal scale when a malignant *leader* is given a position of power and influence, and Dr Hassan speaks to the efficacy of well honed propaganda as mind control to manipulate the belief systems of ANY individual. Mind control doesn’t discriminate across lines or levels of intelligence.
I still struggle with Dr Hassan’s suggestion to try to reach out to the indoctrinated with compassion and understanding free from judgment, but I trust his expertise is the answer to what we each must attempt to bring folks like Ally out of the cult mindset and back into collective, objective reality where objective truth isn’t up for debate.
It is impressive that Ally had the constitutional fortitude to get there of her own volition. Dr Hassan had to be deprogrammed from The Moonies in his youth!
Anyhooch, that’s my verbose but well intentioned 2 cents. Perhaps it may be of some help. 🧜♀️🩵✨
Who among us is always perfect? Anyone of us could have grown up in an information silo. What we should want and embrace is for people to continue to learn and change their thinking. Condemning them forever, in spite of their evolution, is wrong.
Kathrleen, your attitude and lack of empathy is part of the problem in our country. People change and grow, and that is to be applauded. I encourage you to examine why you can't find forgiveness or empathy for someone who has made a difficult journey toward the truth. That self-examination might help you grow and become more empathic yourself.
I do not lack empathy! I have an opinion and I stated it. I guess honesty doesn't count. One question? Who are you to judge? Yeah, I'm the problem not the 70+ million who voted a psychopath into office!
It take a lot of courage to admit a change of heart and to allow information to change your perspective. I’m glad you found your way to critically think. No party is perfect but I definitely don’t want to be part of the party that doesn’t value caring, empathy, and facing the truth even when it’s difficult.
Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful commentary on your political history - and to elucidate it in such an insightful way. I agree with the other comments who called this courageous. And thank you for your daily musings as well
If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading "The Destructionists" by Dana Milbank and "It Was All A Lie" by Stuart Stevens and watching "The Brainwashing of My Dad." I think you will find a lot of valuable information and even entertainment in these three places. I applaud you for your evolution and cheer you on your journey,
The Brainwashing of my Dad is excellent. I recommend it often.
Thank you for writing this. When I see what's happening in our country today, I want to cry. To think that a convicted felon is using the office of the presidency to enrich himself and his family, I feel physically sick. I grew up in NY and knew what Trump was. I couldn't believe he was elected the first time and after Jan 6th, I thought he'd never see the Oval Office again, but I was so wrong. He has no moral compass and believes in nothing except how to make himself richer. What a sad state of affairs!
Thank you soo much Ally! You have given this old (67, is that old?) Homo some much needed hope in this current climate. I hope you know how much your voice is desperately needed these days! Keep sharing your story with others who may have ears to hear it!
Thank you, Ally. I wish that every MAGAt could have your epiphany.
So glad that you see that the Dems are indeed trying to help. And most of all, I am happy that you see empathy is not a weakness but a strength. I agree with Chong-Anna, it takes a lot of courage to change and allow the facts to dictate to your beliefs, not beliefs to dictate your facts. Bravo and have a great day!
Right on. Now let’s work on converting the Trump zombies who are yet to see the light.
As a grandparent of a 14-year-old (totally liberal and very scared, btw) I do understand how you grew into this, and I am blown away by the strength it took you to see through the Orwellian world of lies, but unfortunately, most who follow your path during their youth never see the light, and with the GOP spending half a century fighting against education (I do not include religious homeschooling as education) many if not most youngsters did not have the gumption, nor the smarts to follow your path, and they are now the electorate. I do not know if there will be enough of us to resist the clear descent into autocracy. There weren't enough in my mother's Germany during an eerily similar political landscape. So please fight to continue to be heard and seen. Odysseys like yours are our only hope.
Thank you for your honesty.
Way to go Ally. The Democrats may not be perfect, but when it comes to trying to make the country a better more kind and generous place to live, they take the cake. Unfortunately, the Republican Party is now a cult afraid to stand up for the rights of citizens. That will never be who America is.
Being a life long Democrat, I rarely agreed with Republicans, but I understood our tensions could be healthy for Democracy. I watched the Republicans transform slowly as attacks became more racist, outlandish, personal and cruel. When Trump burst on the scene, he rode that wave like a champion surfer and parlayed it into the MAGA movement making the bipartisanship of the past almost all but impossible. I am so sad and frightened about where we are today. How will this end?
Anyway, I appreciate hearing your journey since MAGA family and friends of mine can only engage me (if we are speaking at all) with insults that seem to emerge from an alternative universe. It could not be easy for you and I suspect you lost some friends along the way. I wish you a bright future, especially if we can get to the other side of this fascist nightmare. Stay in the light. ❤️
Thank you for sharing this, and for what you are doing!
I knew none of this. Thank you so much for letting us know and for your courage to change.
I'm sorry but I can't find empathy for anyone who ever voted for Trump. You all can attack me but I could never vote for anyone with his lack of empathy, morale compass and no soul. I'm glad you have "seen the light" but I'll never understand how anyone thought Sandy Hook was a setup. That to me is just too hard to comprehend that be cause you were a conservative your belief system was that screwed up. Come on haters I'm ready for you!
I’d hate for everyone to judge me based on what I was like when I was a young person.
Same. I was nuts!
Ally is waaay more courageous than I could be to share the depths of which she's come from, on the internet. The fact that she's laid herself bare is enough for me to have empathy for her, and anyone else who finds their way out of that fog.
I think it's important to realize these people are victims of a decades-long, right-wing agenda to immerse them in propaganda, conspiracy theories and lies. They are not simply parroting what their parents say; it's much more complicated than that. Please see the books and movie I recommended to Ally in this thread and consider reading and/or watching them. You will see how we got where we are now, which can seem like a total mystery. In other words, IT WAS ON PURPOSE.
💯 these states now funding private & religious schools are part of it.
Not only do the religious private schools (who only serve wealthy kids to start with) keep charging tuition, but get our tax dollars now too! It’s absurd the way republicans manipulate the already racist school systems & then try to scream religious bias. Bull crap. They only do what profits them.
I respect this. Kathleen, no haters here. Put your dukes down. It's OK for you to feel the way you do. I don't agree with you, because better we have Ally on our side late than never, but we are not them. We don't attack others because they have a differing opinion than our own.
I am glad that Ally is on our side and I am not attacking anyone. I just find it hard to believe anyone would listen to Trumps' hate. I know conservatives who do not hate and are not conspiracy theorists.
Agreed, but plenty people *do* listen to his hate. Problem is, their rhetoric resonates in a way with biased people, that ours doesn't/hasn't.
I think we all know conservatives who aren't on that wonky spectrum, but I count the ones who find their way out of the matrix, a blessing.
Kathleen, this is going to be a little lengthy because I truly empathize with what you’ve said you are feeling. I’m there myself, still trying to work out my fight or flight response and as yet vacillating between them.
I sincerely wish to offer a few suggestions that have helped me navigate this justifiably righteous anger we share about remotely accommodating or forgiving anyone who has been being privy to personally observing that sociopath’s immorality and hateful rhetoric in real time and not being so immediately disgusted - full stop! - to obviously conclude without reservation that that soulless ghoul should absolutely not be allowed anywhere near the levers of power and influence egregiously given to him. Over our entire country. Impacting every person on the planet!
And I believe those of us who live consciously have all struggled with this; of giving even a moment more of even reticent grace to those who were so easily bamboozled by such a cheap and grotesque conman - not only knowing who and what that monster is, but actually celebrating the dark destructive cruelty he has unleashed.
I concur with others’ suggestions to read Stuart Stevens’s book It Was All a Lie and watch The Brainwashing of My Father doc. Both excellent and informative.
I’ll offer further recommendations to check out the work of forensic psychiatrist and violence expert Dr. Bandy X Lee who has a Substack newsletter, fantastic spotlights with Anthony Davis of Five Minute News and other interviews on YouTube and to cult expert Dr. Stephen Hassan’s book The Cult of Trump and his other works on Freedom of Mind.
Dr Lee speaks to the dangers of mass psychosis being contagious at societal scale when a malignant *leader* is given a position of power and influence, and Dr Hassan speaks to the efficacy of well honed propaganda as mind control to manipulate the belief systems of ANY individual. Mind control doesn’t discriminate across lines or levels of intelligence.
I still struggle with Dr Hassan’s suggestion to try to reach out to the indoctrinated with compassion and understanding free from judgment, but I trust his expertise is the answer to what we each must attempt to bring folks like Ally out of the cult mindset and back into collective, objective reality where objective truth isn’t up for debate.
It is impressive that Ally had the constitutional fortitude to get there of her own volition. Dr Hassan had to be deprogrammed from The Moonies in his youth!
Anyhooch, that’s my verbose but well intentioned 2 cents. Perhaps it may be of some help. 🧜♀️🩵✨
Who among us is always perfect? Anyone of us could have grown up in an information silo. What we should want and embrace is for people to continue to learn and change their thinking. Condemning them forever, in spite of their evolution, is wrong.
Kathrleen, your attitude and lack of empathy is part of the problem in our country. People change and grow, and that is to be applauded. I encourage you to examine why you can't find forgiveness or empathy for someone who has made a difficult journey toward the truth. That self-examination might help you grow and become more empathic yourself.
I do not lack empathy! I have an opinion and I stated it. I guess honesty doesn't count. One question? Who are you to judge? Yeah, I'm the problem not the 70+ million who voted a psychopath into office!
Thank you for taking the time to detail your past beliefs and how you got to where you are now, I really appreciated reading that.