Folks, I'm still a handshake account but I hope somebody will listen. I've always been a patriot. When I was a child, all I wanted to do is be a soldier and serve my country. I believed in the American dream and wanted to pay it back any way I could. I was wounded with a crushed spine which ended my career. After a long recovery, I was able to serve my community as a public safety officer and sheriff's deputy until my back finally gave up on me. I've always been a lifelong Republican.

I wasn't excited about Trump when he decided to run but my wife showed me videos of him going back to the eighties. I was sold on him then. I am now a staunch Trumpian and am ready to follow his lead. President Trump is the very definition and shining example of what it means to be a patriot.

Our vote is our voice, that is how it works. Our voice was stolen. Republicans sided with the Democrats and sealed the deal. Now it is revealed they did so because of Corporate money and business deals. I feel my service, my commitment was for nothing. I feel cheapened and worthless. I feel betrayed at the cellular level. Everything I stood for, everything I believed was a lie, a damn lie.

I'm hurting, friends. Deeply. Soulfully. This was a profound betrayal and I am beyond stunned. I'm angry, yes, but hurt. I'm drowning in it. As a former soldier, I want to fight. I want to destroy. The truth is, I can't anymore. To add insult to injury, I'm a paper tiger. I've got the knowledge and knowhow but that and a few bucks will get you a cup of coffee and a newspaper.

How, as a man, an American, am I supposed to react to such a profound betrayal? Am I to just shrug it off? Was my service, my honors and medals, my spine just bullshit? I'm lost, friends. I'm deep in the woods and I have no landmarks to navigate this wilderness.