Unaffiliated

With the upcoming election I decided I would add my voice to the melting pot of others giving their opinion, whether solicited or unsolicited.

I am unaffiliated. What does that mean exactly? Since I'm a writer, I thought I'd use a metaphor.

When I was a kid I loved ice cream (okay, still do). But I really really loved when my mom or grandma would treat me with a sticky-sweet ice cream at the end of busy summer day. The best part was always pressing my nose against the glass (I'm sure I pissed a few workers off) and trying to decide what flavor(s) I wanted stacked on my cone. However, the decision making process has always been agonizing for me. What flavor combination would be best? Should I do a sugar or cake cone (obviously sugar)? Did cookies 'n cream or chocolate cookie dough go better with double chocolate? You can imagine the stress on my young mind.

Ice Cream Arrangement

I'll pause for a second to clarify. The ice cream shop that we visited is Democracy as a whole, the ice cream is of course the institution of voting. And the flavors? Those are the candidates and their respective parties. Of course, the hardest decision is always when it gets narrowed down to two flavors because, let's be honest, it's always between two flavors by the time your mom is tapping her foot waiting for you to decide. Similarly, we are always down to a Republican and Democratic candidate, despite the presence of other parties in the U.S. system.

Like I said, I've always agonized over the making of the actual decision. Getting there is exciting, there's so much hope and so many options. I want to do my research, read all the flavor descriptions, and figure out what fits best for me. But, by the end, I have to make a decision. And, since I'm a perfectionist, I want to be fully happy with the decision even if there are other options that could theoretically also make me happy. Now, I'm not a cookies 'n cream (Democrat) or a chocolate chip cookie dough (Republican) affiliate. I prefer the option to change my mind given what I feel is best for me at a certain time in my life. Therefore, I am unaffiliated.

However, what if the final two options were narrowed down to generally unpopular flavors? Let's say Licorice and Cotton Candy (I'll let you decide who is who). These flavors are generally not people's first choices and are quite polarizing. You either love or hate the flavor. SO, as an unaffiliated ice cream eater (voter), I have the right to choose from the two options the shop has given me, go to a third party alternative, or decide I don't want ice cream today altogether.

That is, after all, my right.

But let's be clear. Even if I walk away, that does not mean that I do not still love ice cream or that I will never choose it again. And it certainly does not mean that I have given up on the ice cream shop altogether.

#election #voting #icecream #metaphor