I am not a fan of Trump the man, the human being, the TV personality, the real estate developer or even how he handled being the POTUS. I was and am still on board with most of his policies, especially contrasted with those of his opponent(s) - Clinton/Biden/Harris. I also realize he is not a sympathetic figure, largely because he brings much of the criticism upon himself through his own words and actions. By 2016 I was already resigned to the fact that the stranglehold the Red/Blue duopoly and the corporate interests they are beholden to had on a federal level wasn't going to change in my lifetime. I didn't even vote for the man, but his winning gave me a glimmer of hope that hey, maybe change was possible. Maybe people finally woke up to the possibility that a choice between a shit sandwich and a vomit milkshake is no choice at all. Boy was I wrong.
Once the shock wore off from 11-8-2016, TPTB were ready to fight. For nearly a decade now the majority of the left, a large portion of the right, and both their party factions and media/corporate surrogates have been in a collective state of apoplexy and disbelief at the prospect of a Trump presidency. He has faced a level of scrutiny and platform obstruction heretofore unseen. Twice impeached. Multiple investigations of political, civil and criminal kinds. 2 attempts made on his life in the past 2 months. Branded daily as the largest threat to Democracy in our times. If this is how they treat someone who for decades rubbed elbows with both sides of the aisle, what chance does a true independent/third party candidate have?
So I am left with the only logical takeaway, it's that I will never see a real change in the status quo. I am left with the inscrutable fact that while the status quo may lose a battle here and there, that it always wins the war. As such, after 40 years of voting I have officially run out of fecks to give and 2024 will be my last ballot cast in federal elections.