We’ve only got two choices: Trump or Clinton.  At least, that’s what everyone’s told us. “Choose from the lesser of two evils” they say. They’ve also told us that the only issue that matters is the Supreme Court Justice picks.  If they truly believed that, they’d vote for Evan McMullin or Gary Johnson because, as I’ve noted before, there is little chance that Trump will keep any promises he’s made because he very likely has NPD.

Many Evangelicals believe that we are seeing the beginning of the end times and are folding their arms in resignation.  But is giving up when the going gets rough really the lesson that we want to pass on to future generations?

“It’s always been between Democrat and Republican—it’s always been that way,” I imagine a staunch, grey- haired Baby Boomer explaining to me.  And he would be right—almost—with the stellar exception of Abraham Lincoln.

The problem is, I’m a scrappy Gen-X-er and was taught by the Boomer generation slogans like “think outside of the box,” or “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  So here’s the deal.  If you don’t like the rules of the game, change them.  And yes, I’m talking to you Gen-Xers and Millennials.  It’s up to us.  We’ve believed the lie that we have to play by the old rules of the game.  But we don’t.

The problem is not that we don’t have a good choice, it’s that we’ve believed the lie that we can be lazy in our democracy—thinking that a good democratic republic doesn’t require massive amounts of effort and sacrifice to maintain.  Do you think we just woke up one day after complaining about the unfair British rule, and suddenly had independence?  I think not.

So let’s look realistically at our options.

Gary Johnson—Best option for Moderate Republicans, Independents, and Centrist Democrats.

The Good: He is currently polling as the highest of all three third-party candidates, especially amongst young voters.  At this point, he has the overwhelming support of his home state, New Mexico. He is on the ballot in all 50 states.  He has experience as a highly successful Republican Governor.

The Bad: He doesn’t know where Aleppo is and can’t think very well on his feet (probably thanks to all of his former pot smoking).  Although personally pro-life, he believes the decision of abortion should be decided on by state, rather than at the Federal level (aka not pro-life on the birth end of things, but pro-life for the end of life and pro-life in quality of life for all).

To Learn more: https://www.johnsonweld.com

Evan McMullin—Best option for Conservative Republicans and Pro-Lifer’s

The Good: He worked in the Middle East in the CIA, as an investment banker for Goldman and Sachs, and served on the House of Foreign Affairs committee.  He is unabashedly pro-life and truly conservative.  He is on the ballot in 12 states.

The Bad: He has access as a write-in candidate in 20 states, and is on the ballot in 12.  There is no spelling auto-correct on the ballots.  If you are going to vote for him, make sure you know how to spell his name.

To learn more: https://www.evanmcmullin.com

Possible outcomes:

Evan McMullin could win his home state of Utah and the vote could go to the House of Representatives.

Gary Johnson could win his home state of New Mexico and the vote could go to the House of Representatives.

So what can we do?  We young people are great at protesting what we don’t like, but are usually unwilling to put in the work that change requires.  So here’s what we can do.

1. Register to vote.  Today is the last day to register in PA.
2. Educate yourself.  Know what is important and what you’re looking for in a candidate.
3. Spread the word and educate others (that doesn’t mean have a shouting match).  Volunteer.  Every one of those websites has ways that you can volunteer.
4. Petition.  If you like Gary Johnson, but want more pro-life leaning Supreme Court Justice picks, petition.
5. Work at the polls.  Make a homemade sign, talk to people knowledgeably about your candidate.
6. Send all of your friends in Utah and New Mexico information about the candidates most likely to win their state.

The point is, let’s stop complaining and work together to change the tide.

A few days ago, I resigned from my post as Republican Committee Woman in order to tell you why I, as a Moderate Republican, will not be voting for our newly nominated Republican candidate and the one thing you need to know if you are considering it.

For most Republicans, it boils down to the pro-life issue.  Maybe you’ve felt the same way.

One of the most common sentiments I’ve heard from fellow disgruntled Republicans is, “I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.  I don’t want to vote for either of them.  I won’t vote for Hillary because she’s a crook and will choose a very pro-choice liberal Supreme Court Justice.  At least with Trump, he’s pro-life and will choose a pro-life Supreme Court Justice.”

And this, I’ve found is the main reason that good, intelligent people are holding their noses and voting for Trump.  The problem is, is he really pro-life? I’d say no and I’ll explain more fully in a moment.

My definition of pro-life is problematic because I believe that it means to encompass the entirety of life, not just the short unborn portion.  And Trump has shown himself to have a high disregard for non-white, non-male lives.  If you can’t think of any examples off the top of your head, I’ll be happy to supply a few (and in his own words too!):

1. He belittles and degrades women.
2. He promotes violence to silence dissension and makes personal attacks when questioned or criticized.
3. And most especially, he is blatantly racist.

But here’s the thing.  Even if your definition of pro-life is defined as protecting the life of the unborn, you only have a 50% chance that Trump will live up to his word.

So why would I say he cannot be counted on to be pro-life by either definition?

Because Donald J. Trump has Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).  For at least a year now, psychologists have been warning people that Trump is a textbook case and to beware (NPD is very different from simply having narcissistic tendencies).  However, they have not done a very good job of telling people why it’s the most important factor in deciding whether or not he is a viable candidate for our country’s highest office: decisions made by someone with NPD cannot be trusted.

If you are unfamiliar with what this particular personality disorder, please do your fellow Americans a favor and educate yourself by clicking here to learn about NPD.  That is not a suggestion–click on it.

If you’ve ever lived with someone who has NPD, as I have, I would not need to tell you any of this.  You would already know by the first time you heard Trump speak or by watching his children speak about him, that he has NPD.  However, if you are like most people, you’ve not experienced this before (lucky you).  NPD rules almost every aspect of the person who has it.  Here is what a man with NPD will look like in office.

Emotions control the logic of a person with a personality disorder. People continually question Trump’s logic, but that’s because his decisions are made on his emotions at that moment, not logic.  “In the study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, a team of German researchers used modern brain scanning technology to examine the brain structure of 34 volunteers…the authors of the study linked the presence of narcissism to increased activity in another part of the cerebral cortex that helps control impulsive behavior. This activity increase diminishes impulse control, and thereby increases the likelihood of poor decision-making in affected individuals.”–(see above link)

No, he is not just making bombastic statements to gain attention.  Many of Trump’s loudest followers are people who love his quality of “saying what he thinks” and his screw-the-man persona.  Unfortunately, this is no act.  He really has little regard for others because he has little to no empathy. (see link on previous point)

He will change his mind and reverse his stances–over and over and over.  This is one of the most terrifying aspects of this personality disorder.  What’s worse is, we’ve already seen this happen on the campaign trail, but people forget because he’s so passionate about his current decision in the moment.  And that’s the thing, a person with NPD believes exactly what he says at that very moment, but it may change in a week or a day or a month.  And how does Trump get away with it?  Attacking the person who points out the inconsistencies.

He does not have the ability to take counsel.  How many times when people asked Trump from whom does he seek advice, did he say himself?  And it seems pretty easy to see that Trump felt forced by the Republican Party Salvagers into choosing Mike Pence as his running mate.  Did you see his lackluster RNC speech for Pence?  People have the idea that Pence somehow make all of the rough edges of Trump okay because deep down they believe that a man who was so successful in business will make a great leader.  In the business world, self-promotion for self-serving reasons is a must.  However, the president is supposed to make decisions that may be self-sacrificing for the greater good.  As a person experienced with NPD, I know that will not happen–no matter who your VP is.  That brings me to my next point.

He will do what is in his own self-interest before anyone else’s.  He claims to speak for America and fancies himself our champion, but what has he done for anyone besides himself?  You can’t go by what he says, so let’s look at what he’s done for others where he’s received no personal benefit.   Hmm…that was quick.

Look at who Trump idolizes to know what he wants America to become.  In the past, he’s publicly praised and admired both Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jung Un.  If you want to know more about Putin (whom I’ve followed politically since I was a teenager) I recommend an informative book called, “The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin” by Steven Lee Meyers.  The title is pretty self-explanatory as to why Trump idolizes him.  And the relationship with Putin is already getting scary.  Russia has already taken responsibility for leaking the DNC e-mails.  And then there’s the money.  ” ‘Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets,’ ” Trump’s son, Donald Jr., told a real estate conference in 2008…” (WP)

So what is a person who loves their country and is aware of all of this supposed to do?

Inform people and suggest a more sane option.

Although my solution is not perfect, and if I am going by my “whole life, pro-life” definition, the most pro-life candidate (looking at all policies), is Gary Johnson.  I am in no way a Libertarian, and generally detest many Libertarian stances, especially when someone quotes Ayn Rand’s “objectivism,” as a legitimate social/economic strategy *eye roll.*  However, Johnson and Weld were both Republican Governors and still retain many of their more Republican stances.  (Ideally, I’d rather see Weld as the Presidential candidate).  And the cool thing is, this time around, the third party candidate has a shot at the presidency.  But there you have it.

“Vote your conscience…”–Ted Cruz (Lol)