20:05 Central Time

I am not of the majority demographic in Texas. 

I've been here since 1977. I'm a military veteran. I play pedal steel 
guitar as a hobby/side job. It probably isn't a stretch to assume that 
my audiences think that I vote Republican, hold conservative views, 
and practice Christianity.

I've evolved into the complete opposite. I tend to lean progressive. I 
think of myself as a secular humanist (AKA an atheist). I have voted 
Democratic since 2015. I don't necessarily agree with the current 
Senate and House minority leaders. If anything, I consider them and 
their ilk to be "corporate Democrats" who take money from AIPAC 
(American Israel Public Affairs Committee) to do their bidding when it 
comes to the genocide in Gaza.

But I can't vote for any Republican in good conscience. Hence, my 
switch to the Democratic party. The current administration consists of 
authoritarians who are steering the US down a path of fascism. 
Third-party candidates can never win in a rigged bicameral system, so 
I don't bother to waste my vote on them. 

My point is that I'm lucky that the people I play music for can't read 
my mind. It would shock them to the core. I'm not one for 
"get-in-your-face" politics, and I only have a problem with religion 
when it harms others. Christian nationalism is a philosophy that I 
just can't abide. 

Phew! I just had to get that out of my system.