I'm Not A Democrat Or A Republican. Both Sides Are Performative Cults For People Who Need An Identity.

Your Politics Aren't Principles. They're A Personality Disorder.

I don’t vote.

Not because I’m apathetic. Not because I don’t care. Because I refuse to join either fucking cult.

You want me to pick a side? Democrat or Republican? Liberal or Conservative? Red or Blue?

How about neither. How about both of you are full of shit and I’m tired of pretending otherwise.

Your Politics Aren’t Principles. They’re A Personality Substitute.

You know what I notice about people who make politics their whole identity?

They’re boring as fuck without it.

Take away the MAGA hat or the “In This House We Believe” yard sign, and what’s left? Someone who can’t hold a conversation without turning it into a moral superiority contest.

You don’t have political beliefs. You have a team jersey. And you’re screaming at strangers on the internet because it’s easier than building an actual personality.

Republicans wear their patriotism like armor while defending billionaires who wouldn’t piss on them if they were on fire. Democrats perform empathy for Instagram likes while gentrifying the neighborhoods they claim to protect.

Both of you are cosplaying values you don’t actually live by.

The Pattern Is Identical On Both Sides

Here’s what’s wild: You think you’re different. You think your side has integrity while the other side is corrupt.

But watch how both sides operate:

They create an enemy. Republicans blame “the left” for destroying America. Democrats blame “the right” for destroying democracy. Both need a villain to feel like heroes.

They demand loyalty. Question Trump? You’re a traitor to the party. Question Biden? You’re enabling fascism. No room for nuance. No space for complexity. Pick a side or get destroyed.

They monetize your rage. Political consultants, PACs, media personalities, influencers—they’re all getting rich while you fight with your uncle on Facebook. Your outrage is their business model.

They promise salvation. “If we just elect this person...” “If we just pass this law...” Neither side delivers. Ever. But they’ll blame the other side for blocking them, and you’ll buy it again next cycle.

They make you feel smart for regurgitating talking points. You didn’t form that opinion. You downloaded it from your favorite pundit. But it feels like critical thinking because everyone in your bubble agrees with you.

What You’re Really Doing

You’re not engaged in politics. You’re engaged in performance.

Every political post is a signal: “I’m a good person. I’m on the right side of history. I’m not like those people.”

That black square you posted in 2020? Performance. That “Let’s Go Brandon” bumper sticker? Performance. Your pronouns in your bio? Performance. Your “Don’t Tread On Me” flag? Performance.

None of it changed anything. But it made you feel like you did something.

You’re not trying to change minds. You’re trying to be seen as morally superior by people who already agree with you.

And when someone challenges you? You don’t defend your position with facts. You attack their character. You search their post history. You call them a fascist or a communist or a sheep or a Nazi. Because this was never about policy. It’s about destroying anyone who threatens your identity.

Republicans call Democrats “snowflakes” while having a meltdown about Bud Light. Democrats call Republicans “fascists” while demanding corporations censor speech they don’t like.

The hypocrisy is breathtaking. And neither side can see it because self-awareness would destroy the whole performance.

The Cost Of Your Tribalism

You’ve lost relationships over politics.

Family members you don’t talk to anymore. Friends who “showed their true colors.” People you cut off because they voted differently than you.

And you feel righteous about it. You tell yourself it’s about values. About protecting your peace. About boundaries.

Bullshit.

You sacrificed real human connection for the approval of strangers who share your political aesthetic.

You chose your tribe over your family. Your ideology over your friends. Your team over your integrity.

And both sides are doing it. Both convinced they’re the ones with principles.

What Actually Matters (And What Doesn’t)

You know what changed in your life when Trump won? When Biden won? When Obama won? When Bush won?

Probably nothing fundamental.

You still went to work. You still paid your bills. You still dealt with the same problems you had before.

The president didn’t fix your marriage. Didn’t cure your anxiety. Didn’t pay off your student loans. Didn’t make you successful or fulfilled or happy.

But you convinced yourself it mattered more than it did. Because without the political drama, you’d have to face the actual problems in your life.

Politics is a distraction. A convenient place to put all your rage about things you can’t control.

Your boss is underpaying you? Blame the other party’s economic policy. Your relationships are failing? Blame the culture war. Your kids don’t respect you? Blame what they’re teaching in schools. Your life isn’t what you wanted? Blame the people voting differently than you.

It’s easier than taking responsibility for the shit you actually can change.

Both Sides Attract The Same Personality Type

You want to know what Republicans and Democrats have in common?

They both attract people who need external validation for their worth.

People who need to be told they’re good. People who need to feel special. People who need an enemy to define themselves against.

Narcissists gravitate to both sides. So do people with deep insecurity. So do people who need to control others. So do people who need simple answers to complex problems.

The ideology is different. The personality disorder is the same.

Look at the tactics: Public shaming. Moral outrage. Virtue signaling. Purity tests. Witch hunts. Calling for people to lose their jobs. Demanding apologies that are never enough.

Republicans do it. Democrats do it. Both think they’re righteous. Both think the other side invented it.

And the second you point this out, both sides attack you the exact same way: “If you’re not with us, you’re against us.”

No. I’m just watching both of you destroy relationships, mental health, and rational discourse while pretending you’re saving the world.

What I Actually Believe

I believe most people are trying their best with the information they have.

I believe the system is designed to keep us fighting each other so we don’t notice who’s actually robbing us blind.

I believe corporations don’t give a fuck about your values. They’ll slap a pride flag or an American flag on their logo depending on what sells this quarter. They’ll tweet “Black Lives Matter” while donating to politicians who oppose police reform. They’ll champion “freedom” while exploiting workers in other countries.

I believe most politicians are narcissists who found a legal way to feed their ego and bank account while convincing you they care about your problems.

I believe the media on both sides makes money from your outrage and will never tell you the truth if calm nuance doesn’t drive clicks and ad revenue.

I believe your neighbor who votes differently than you probably wants the same things you do—safety, security, opportunity for their kids—they just have different ideas about how to get there. And you’ll never know because you’ve been trained to see them as the enemy.

I believe you’re being manipulated by both sides. Intentionally. Systematically. For profit.

And I believe you’ll call me a “centrist” or “enlightened centrist” or accuse me of “privilege” for saying all this, because you can’t comprehend that someone might reject both cults without being secretly on the other team.

That’s how deep the programming goes.

The Truth You Don’t Want To Hear

Neither party cares about you.

Not really.

They care about your vote. Your donation. Your outrage keeping their opponent in the news cycle.

But once they’re elected? You’re forgotten. Until the next cycle when they need you again.

And you fall for it. Every. Single. Time.

Because admitting you’ve been played is harder than doubling down on the team you picked.

What Happens When You Let Go

I don’t vote. I don’t perform political alignment. I don’t signal my values with yard signs or bumper stickers or social media posts.

And you know what happened?

My life got quieter. My relationships got deeper. My thinking got clearer.

I’m not wasting energy on things I can’t control. I’m not ruining relationships over politicians who don’t know I exist. I’m not performing morality for people who don’t give a shit about me.

I’m focused on what’s actually in front of me. My work. My relationships. My actual community.

The people I can impact. The problems I can solve. The life I can actually build.

Not the fantasy that voting harder will fix everything.

The Question You Need To Ask Yourself

Would you still be friends with people who disagree with you politically?

If the answer is no, you’re in a cult.

Would you rather be right or have relationships?

If you’re choosing “right,” you’re in a cult.

Do you feel morally superior to half the country?

You’re in a cult.

Can you explain what the other side actually believes, or do you only know the fake version your team taught you?

Here’s what I mean:

Republicans think Democrats want to “destroy America” and “take all the guns” and “kill babies up to birth” and “make everyone gay.”

Democrats think Republicans want to “ban all abortions with no exceptions” and “create a white ethnostate” and “let corporations poison the water.”

Those aren’t real positions. Those are caricatures. Strawmen. Fake enemies designed to make you feel superior.

A Republican who says “I support the Second Amendment” gets translated to “He wants school shootings to continue.”

A Democrat who says “I support abortion access” gets translated to “She wants to murder babies for fun.”

Neither is true. But you fight the fake version because it’s easier than understanding the real one.

If you can’t explain the other side’s position in a way they’d actually recognize and agree with, you don’t understand what they believe. You only know the monster version your side created to keep you angry.

That’s not discourse. That’s propaganda. And you’re in a cult.

Does your political identity give you purpose, community, and meaning?

Congratulations. You’re in a fucking cult.

The Reality

I’m not a Democrat or a Republican.

I’m just someone who refuses to trade real connection for tribal belonging.

Someone who refuses to pretend politicians are saviors or that voting is activism or that your team winning will fix what’s actually broken in your life.

Someone who sees through the performance on both sides and wants no part of either.

You can call that privilege. You can call that apathy. You can call that enlightened centrism or fence-sitting or whatever helps you maintain your identity.

But deep down, you know I’m right.

Both sides are lying to you. Both sides are using you. Both sides need you angry and afraid and convinced the other side is evil.

Because if you stopped fighting each other, you might realize the real problem isn’t red or blue.

It’s that you built your entire personality around a team that doesn’t give a fuck about you.

Both sides are selling you the same drug with different packaging. And you’re so addicted to feeling morally superior that you can’t see you’re the product, not the customer.

Maybe try having an actual personality instead of a political affiliation.

—Cody Taymore

Kill The Silence