The following is excerpted from Tulsi Gabbard’s book “For Love of Country: Leave the Democrat Party Behind” (Regnery Publishing), which is being released Tuesday, April 30.

We have no time to waste. We live in troubled times. Our nation is bitterly divided. Our future as a republic, as a union, appears bleak. The news – the noise, the insanity, the darkness – is something many of us want to shut out. There are times when all I want to do is grab my surfboard and paddle out into the ocean, or go for a hike in the mountains, and appreciate the peace and majesty of Mother Nature. 

But there is too much at stake, in this moment, to put our heads in the sand and go about our lives with blinders on hoping the insanity will fade away. The insanity and threats to our constitutional democracy will not fade away and will only increase unless we stand up and remind those trying to destroy this country that ours is a government of, by, and for the people.

I joined the Democratic Party in Hawaii in 2002 because I saw a party that, at that time, appeared to be the party of the people, a party that valued free speech, welcoming all comers into a big tent where the sharing of diverse opinions and views on issues was encouraged. It

 was a party that fought for civil liberties and rights, remembering how neighbors and friends were thrown in Japanese internment camps during World War II, their freedoms taken away in an instant. It was a party inspired by JFK and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who showed us what is possible when we as Americans come together. 

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The party I joined over 20 years ago no longer exists today. 

I could no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party, which is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers fueled by cowardly wokeness who divide us by racializing every issue and stoke anti-White racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, are hostile to people of faith and spirituality, demonize the police and protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, allow our borders to remain open while claiming they are “secure,” weaponize the national security state to go after political opponents, and, above all, drag us closer to nuclear war with each passing day.

I left the Democratic Party and became an Independent. For the sake of our country, peace, freedom and our hope for a prosperous future, I urge you to do the same.

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As we look to the way ahead and how we will forge our path through the darkness and toward a brighter future for all Americans, the spirit of aloha serves as the torch that will guide us through. 

What is aloha? While you may be familiar with “aloha” as a word often used as a greeting, it means so much more than that. 

The word alo means to share, and ha refers to the eternal life force within each of us. Aloha recognizes that we are all connected in a spiritual sense, as children of God. Knowing this truth inspires how we should relate to each other and how we can come together to defend our God-given freedoms enshrined in the Constitution against those who seek to take them away. 

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While in this book I detail the reasons I left the Democrat Party, and the serious threat the Democrat elite pose to our freedom and democracy in this very moment, I recognize that the challenges we face in our political system and country are not limited to one political party. 

Politicians from both political parties who are more interested in serving their own interests than in serving the needs of the American people have taken control of our country. They will not give up their power without a fight. 

We live in the greatest country in the world, filled with potential for us to build a brighter future and a more perfect union where every American can live free, in peace, and with opportunity for prosperity… a future where we celebrate free speech and respect each other as children of God and as Americans, even if we disagree on an issue or policy. 

This is the country our Founders envisioned for us, and it is my fervent hope that we come together, remembering the foundational principles that connect us Americans, to make that vision a reality. It’s up to us – all of us – to make it happen. 

Will you join me? 

Aloha.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM TULSI GABBARD