2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Party loyalty is a means of control. I vote for those who will represent me, period. [View all]dreamnightwind
(4,775 posts)Best of luck to you in your struggles, I am going through much the same, only different.
I tend to look at these things from a system level rather than a personal one, and the radicalizing issue for me is climate change, which would benefit by electing someone who doesn't believe in ramping the capitalist beast up to warp speed but who prioritizes living in harmony with people and ecosystems. Sanders isn't perfect on this issue, but he's a bold step in the right direction and isn't bound by campaign funding to support anyone from the fossil fuel extraction and transportation industries.
You articulately discussed many other important reasons for changing our political direction, they're important and I don't mean to diminish them in any way, just adding my own focus to the discussion, I think climate change is the defining challenge of our time.
Bernie's our best choice on most every issue, at least among serious candidates running national campaigns. And our society is heading down a very dark road, with fascist elements supported by a surveillance, police, and military machine historically unprecendented, as we ravage our environment while a few uber-rich people make plans for their personal prosperity as everything around them collapses. It's obvious which candidates are on which side of those issues, and noone should pretend otherwise.