I've just about had enough.

Between what now passes for "political discourse" and the general, "IF YOU TRY TO REASON WITH ME I'M JUST GOING TO YELL EVEN LOUDER!!!" attitude of the general public on any and every issue, political or otherwise, I'm ashamed of and disappointed in all of us.

No longer is this the country my grandfather fought for or the country my grandmother emigrated to.

Normally I'd want to do my part to fix this, but I think we've already gone past the tipping point.

Right now, however, I just want to pack my bags and leave.

So, before I depart, here's a short list of what drove me out:

• Phony Christians
• Not-so-thinly-veiled racism
• Anti-intellectualism
• Economic discrimination
• Willful ignorance of history
• People who don't know the difference between "socialism" and "fascism" calling other people "socialists" and "fascists"
• Anyone whose background isn't Lakota, Seminole, Abenaki, etc. daring to speak about "illegal immigrants"
• Hate