Today I voted for civil rights. I voted for religious freedom and against a single religion deciding MY morals. I voted for people to be able to make up their own minds. I voted against the same kind of fanatical tyranny that predominates in the middle east. If you know what I voted for (or what I voted against) then maybe you should think about what the next four years could look like if you don’t do the same.

I am not a republican or a democrat, a catholic or an atheist. I am a Graysonist. I am the only member of my party and my beliefs and the club will be eternally limited to one member. I am a human among others on a giant revolving orb. I have always severed ties from labels and groups. I am not an athlete or an intellectual. I am Grayson. Even for the sake of simplifying discussion, labels only act to give a stranger a false imagine. My blog is reflective of who I believe I am. The title reflects diversity as opposed to mass production. It is ever dynamic and evolving. The content shows that I am not simply a triathlete or a thinker. To limit myself to one specialization would be abandoning potential. But that is exactly what I have seen almost everyone do with this recent election season.

That is what I believe people are doing when they tie themselves to a political party or a religion. These two are highly comparable. It is a cult agreeing on one body of theories whether in politics based on historical evidence or in religion based on the faith. But to tie oneself to these organizations limits us from realizing what we really believe. I have always respected people for coming to ideas deliberately. I despise organization and gathering to provide force. That is the principle that leads to war and unfortunately is a common theme of both religion and modern US politics.

There is no more respectable tie than spirituality and independence. There are no two Christians who completely agree and yet they assume a set of doctrines and labels that are associated. To abandon that title and assume the beliefs that are applicable and abandon those that are not your own is true wisdom. To simplify oneself to the beliefs of another is regressive and close minded.

Today I voted for everyone’s freedom. The morals laid out by one religion are looking to cling hold of our politics. I voted against that today. I voted for people’s freedom to adopt their own beliefs on issues that cause no harm to anyone else. Today I voted for almost everyone else’s rights moreso than my own.

I voted for gays. I can’t for the life of me understand why anyone would be attracted to a dude, male or female. However, that consistency and my inability to understand, do not prohibit me from the ability to respect people’s choices. Yes, it goes against logic and design. But it does not affect me or anyone else. And because of that, it is their choice and is nonsensical to not be left to that.

I voted for women. I voted for their ability to obtain the medical procedures that they desire. I voted for their freedom to do with their bodies what they want. I have struggled with the morality of abortion almost my entire life. But it is impossible to see the validity to the life argument. Often I see that it is not murder, it is an act of wisdom. I recognize that in some cases it is the prevention of another poorly raised person from polluting this already overcrowded community. But these opinions I have, while I may propose them in discussion and attempt to influence decisions, should not prohibit the access to make a decision. It is not my place. And for that among many other reasons, I voted today for women’s right to choose.

I voted for immigrants. I am voting for the rights of those who were brought here illegally by their parents. Being a dependent child does not translate to criminal action. I am voting for a friend who stands more for American values of freedom, work ethic, and humanity than anyone I have ever met. I am voting so he can have a life. I am voting so that the life he has established will not be stripped from him because of the actions of his parents.

I voted for all this because I am not just Grayson. I am a human. Maybe the title of gay, or woman, or undocumented citizen are never categories that I will fall under, but that doesn’t prevent me from empathizing with them as a human. My views are only a part of the progression that humanity could attain. As a white male with parents in the upper tax bracket, I am voting against a reign of power that would benefit me. I am voting for equality and in support of work ethic, equality, and freedom. I am a Graysonist and I have come to believe that every individual in this country deserves to be able to make up their own mind. I voted for independence and against partisanship. I voted for spirituality and against religious imperialism. I voted for intellectualism and against subservient stupor. I voted for people to be themselves and not their parents. I voted for people to let other people be themselves. I am not voting against a person. I am voting to prevent a collection of deficient people from meddling in the lives of others. I voted so that people are forced to make tough decisions, so they are forced to think instead of having decisions made for them. I voted against the inadequacy that excessive governing creates, whether from parents or presidents and for people to grow up. I challenge you to be a Johnist or a Sarah-ist or a Williamist or a Kellyist instead of a tying yourself to a set of beliefs that do not define you.

In a couple decades I am certain that we will reflect on some of the policies of this election with the same shame that overwhelm us now about George Wallace’s presidential campaigns. But if we struggle so much today to vote for progress and freedom socially and economically, we might as well accept inadequacy as an inferior being. I imagine though that intellectualism has already won the election. We are all human and today I voted for humanity.