The toxicity and extremity of this election is totally baffling to me. Generally speaking when I talk to a stranger at a grocery store or wherever I might be, they seem nice. I like to think we all want similar things - to be happy, safe, and for others to be happy and safe as well.

I just don't understand how we go from that to the presidential candidates and their respective following. I'll come clean now - I'm very much on the left. Bernie's my guy but now that would mean I'd go with Hilary. I am pretty neutral on my opinion of her. She's alright. There's a lot of anti-Hilary content out there but I haven't been able to find any that's proven to be true. There's a lot of anti-Trump stuff which I'll give the benefit of the doubt and assume is largely BS as well.

Problem with this election is most of the topics are about human rights and things much deeper than public policy. How can a man who makes clear that he is anti-women, anti-Muslim, and a host of other highly concerning traits be this popular? Are there really that many Americans who would rather other people suffer than succeed? Honest question, I just can't see how it's possible.

It should be obvious to all of us that whether you are a good person (and by that I mean compassionate, hard working, and looking to contribute positively to society) or not is not affected by the color of your skin, your gender, or your sexual preferences. We all feel the same things. I think most people know that. Of course, there's a competitive, survival instinct in us too. I think that's where a lot of the hatred comes into play. But in modern civilization it should be better tempered than it is.

I have some concerns about Trump:

  • He doesn't understand climate change. It's not a liberal conspiracy, it's scientifically proven. And despite what some rednecks think, science is not a liberal construct. It's pretty easy to understand, too: our atmosphere is like a sweater, which keeps the earth's surface at a nice temperature for us to live while space is really cold. It's made up of CO2 and other gases. It has some buffering ability like how our own bodies can keep us at a precise temperature, which is good, because the earth's surface temp is also a very fine balance. However, it's intuitive that if you put a bunch of additional CO2 into the atmosphere, that 'sweater' becomes thicker and warmer and the earth's surface temp will increase. What's worse, areas of the world most affected are among the poorest parts of the world. So we're activity causing millions of people to suffer and die while debating whether it's even a real thing. Much like 'feminism' being a bad word when it should be basic human decency, 'environmentalism' is treated similarly. And to be a moral person should by definition make you an environmentalist.

  • He doesn't respect people of differing views. It's tough to do this, and I want to call people assholes and idiots all the time. I'm not claiming to be good at this myself. But it's critically important that the leader of a country does what he believes is best for ALL of his fellow Americans. He's made it pretty clear that he's willing to go to war against liberals, which is scary as hell, because this is the country these liberals live. Obama and Clinton's policies may not resonate with all Americans but they both still welcome the differing opinions. I know he get a bad rap from a lot of people but I truly think Obama's done a pretty fine job of meeting in the logical middle on a variety of issues. I would suggest that those who feel otherwise probably have illogical viewpoints.

  • He doesn't respect democracy. Hey, I'm not very impressed with democracy either right now because it's led us to this insane reality TV personality possibly running the country. But even if I don't agree with half-ish of Americans it's damn important that everyone gets a voice. I foresee a Trump presidency systematically removing power from those who would oppose him, such as women, minorities, and liberals. It's in his nature, I don't even blame him. He's extremely competitive. He wouldn't be a household name as a businessman if he wasn't.

So what am I missing? I am not looking for name-calling, I would love to have meaningful conversation about this. All my friends are of the same opinion as me more or less, which is nice, but also doesn't allow me to get differing perspective which I am yearning for.