When Jenny Gage shared her story in her video From Far Right to Democrat on her channel Life, Take Two, she opened a window into something many people don’t fully grasp: why MAGA doesn’t “get it.” It’s not just stubbornness or malice—it’s layers of indoctrination, brainwashing, fear, and cultural conditioning. And for women, especially, those layers are heavy.

Jenny’s vulnerability struck me because I recognize pieces of my own past in her words. Like her, I grew up in a culture where politics and religion often blurred together, and women especially weren’t encouraged to understand the bigger picture. Certain issues were lifted up as if they were the only ones that mattered, while so much else was pushed aside. Looking back, it’s clear how narrowing things in that way became a tool of manipulation—keeping people focused on a couple of “moral” battles while the larger issues of justice and equity went ignored.

And there’s another truth here: women weren’t taught to question. We weren’t taught politics. We were taught to be nice, to be polite, to keep the home. I knew there were three branches of government, but no one encouraged me to understand how they worked, let alone how policies shaped everyday lives. I was too busy absorbing lessons on how to smile sweetly, be agreeable, and prepare for a life that looked like Cinderella’s ending. Reality, of course, turned out much harsher.

Jenny admits she once believed gay people were the downfall of society, because that’s what her church taught. I was told the same. I was told gay was “against God’s law,” that it was evil, that conversion therapy was the cure. Can you imagine? To bare your truth—that you are gay, that this is who you are—only to be met with chaos, punishment, or worse? That’s not faith; that’s cruelty wrapped in scripture. And all the while, real crimes and real victims—abuse within religious communities, domestic violence at home—were ignored or minimized.

This is how distraction works. Focus everyone’s energy on marginalizing already marginalized people, and they won’t notice what’s happening behind the curtain. Keep the “culture war” alive, and the power structures stay intact.

But here’s the thing: the courage it takes to come out and explain why you vote the way you do is amazing. I didn’t know—until I did. And I know I’m not alone in that. That is why I work toward helping others see the light, too. None of us have to live in the darkness. We just need access to good information, and we need our government to stop gaslighting us. We are not as dumb as they thought. We see the deal, and we are coming for them in some way, shape, or form. Jenny does it through political commentary on video. I do it through my writing. It is our civic responsibility—and it’s likely yours, too. Get it figured out, and help save our country.

And one more thing: I know a lot of people are just angry with Trump voters. But anger alone doesn’t solve the problem. We have to band together to get through what happened in November of last year. It will take time, but with time and some luck, some of those at the top will finally face accountability. I still believe in law and order. Republicans, you cannot claim to believe in it while backing the most corrupt president in our lifetimes—likely in our history. Shame on the media, too. Right-wing outlets in particular fueled this mess, playing games with people’s minds. Enough. Stop manipulating our minds and our lives—they are sacred.

Jenny’s story isn’t only about leaving MAGA. It’s about deconstructing an entire worldview built on fear, obedience, and disinformation. It’s about choosing peace, community, and truth over hate. And it’s about realizing that we are all just people—human beings who deserve basic rights and dignity, no matter what.

And I want to highlight how she ended her video, because it matters. You can tell this was hard for her to do, and she simply asked: “Please be kind. I am still in the process of deconstructing and learning after a lifetime in this system. I’d love to hear more questions in the comments.” That plea deserves to be honored. Transformation is fragile. It requires compassion as much as it requires truth.

I commend her for telling her truth, because it isn’t easy to admit when you’ve been part of something destructive. It isn’t easy to face the fact that you were misled, that you carried harmful beliefs, that you prayed for leaders who worked against human rights. But courage lives in honesty, and stories like Jenny’s matter because they remind us that transformation is possible.

The world told us who to be, how to behave, and what to believe. But here we are, unlearning, relearning, and reclaiming. That’s life, take two…