I don’t like what politics does to people. I don’t like what it does to people in it or to people who talk about it. It’s reductive. It’s simplistic. It is a poor representation of the world around us.

I don’t like politicians or the way they talk or what they have to say. They use so many words (“the best words”) and say absolutely nothing.

And in election years, all of this shit gets turned up to 11.

You don’t have to look too far to find someone who will say (loudly) that this is the most important election of our lifetimes. Our nation is at stake! And there is only one choice that makes any sense. And to hell with you if you can’t see who that is.

Fascist! Socialist! Racist! BITCH!

It’s not OK to think anything just a little bit. It’s not enough to prefer a candidate or even love a candidate. You have to generate a corresponding amount of hate for the others. Oh, and if I don’t like your candidate that means certain things about me. It means I’m unrealistic or simple-minded. It means I hate women. It means I don’t care about the poor.

Full Disclosure: I am a registered independent. I lean left – sometimes a little bit, sometimes a lot.

I am about to say some things that will not sit well with people who have fervor for their candidate. I am about to do something that is going to seem downright anachronistic.

If I am honest when I consider the remaining three candidates, my feelings fall somewhere between meh and a shrug. I am just, well, whelmed.

Hillary Clinton

I love the idea of a woman as president. I have a daughter, and I never want for even a moment for her to think something is unachievable. But I hate the idea of voting for a candidate because of their demographic profile. Hillary just doesn’t do it for me. I voted for Barack Obama, and I did so not because he was a black man and it was about damn time for the White House to be a little less white. I voted for him because he represented optimism. Not pie-in-the-sky optimism, but genuine I-think-we-can-do-better-and-I’ve-got-some-ideas optimism. But if I vote for Hillary, it will be a vote for “not the other guy”. Don’t get me wrong.

Bernie Sanders

I admire Bernie Sanders. I like a lot of what Bernie has to say and that he has been saying it for years. And I love that he has made all candidates talk about issues that don’t get talked about very often. He defies political conventions because he doesn’t align his policies and platform with what is popular and convenient or even what is expedient to get a nomination in the two-party system. But I don’t have the passion for him that many others do. I will refrain from the normal criticism of Bernie – i.e. he’ll never be able to get any of what he talks about done. That may be true, but it’s generally true of just about any candidate in our current political climate. Bernie’s angry. His passion is fueled by a seething rage. He has earned that rage, and I believe it’s genuine. At the end of the day, I think that our country is broken in profound ways. I also believe that Bernie, though his intentions are beyond reproach, will widen the divide. And I don’t think we can survive that.

Donald Trump

This isn’t all leading up to me throwing my lot in with Donald. Donald is everything that is wrong with American politics without the normal artiface. He lacks the good sense to swallow his bullshit. Mostly because he is too busy feeding it to us. I’ve heard him described as “shrewd” and “charming”, and I need to look up both those words because apparently I’ve been using them wrong. And I know this probably doesn’t count for much, but to my eye, Donald isn’t even close to the best the Republican party has to offer. At best, Donald is good at being rich. I’m not sure that’s a skill, and I am not sure exactly how if it were, it would be good for the country.

Ultimately, I find all of these candidates incredibly one-dimensional. I miss nuance. I want a candidate that chooses words carefully. And not because certain words tested better in polling than other words, but because only a specific set of words would do to accurately describe the sentiment to be conveyed.

So what? Move to Canada? I’m sure it’s lovely. Opt out? Hell no.

I’ll vote. I’ll vote for the least worst candidate in hopes that we can be the least worst America possible.