Did You Vote? Judgment Day Has Come!
What you are about to read are my reflections and mine
alone. This is my personal blog and should not be perceived as representing in
any capacity the congregation I serve as pastor.
Now for my thoughts: It is being said that this is the most
consequential election of a lifetime. That may very well be. When it comes to
the Presidential election there are essentially two choices—the incumbent Donald
Trump or his challenger Joe Biden. In many ways, this is a referendum on the
Trump presidency, especially his handling of the Coronavirus Pandemic. I voted
early for Joe Biden. I believe he is not only more capable of serving as
president, but unlike the incumbent, he has the moral capacity to bring a
divided nation together. He may have his flaws, but he also has a sense of
compassion for others that is completely lacking in the current narcissistic President.
Enough said about that.
As for voting. I personally believe that it is not only a
privilege but a responsibility to vote. It is the primary way we participate in
the governance of our communities and nation. The system is not perfect and the
persons who fill the offices to which we elect them are not perfect people. If
the people in office are not capable of fulfilling their responsibilities, then
we have recourse through our votes to change our representatives.
I voted for the first time in 1976. I was eighteen and this
was the first Presidential election to be held after the 26th
Amendment to the Constitution was implemented.
I’ve voted in every Presidential election since then. In that first
election, I cast my ballot for Gerald Ford, while many of my friends who now
are voting for Donald Trump voted for Jimmy Carter because he was the “Born
Again” candidate. I voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980, though I almost wrote in
Gerald Ford. After that, I switched parties and have voted for Democrats since
that time.
I titled this piece “Did You Vote? Judgment Day has Come!" Knowing that many reading
this had voted early in some form and aren’t going to the polls this year due
to the Coronavirus Pandemic that is surging once again, I simply wanted to encourage those who hadn't voted to make their judgment on our system known. As a family, we ordered
our ballots, went through them, put it in the proper envelopes, signed them,
and then delivered them to the dropbox conveniently located at City Hall here
in Troy (unlike in Texas there is more than one dropbox per county—we have four
in a city of 82,000 people). So, the vote is in and now I wait to see how
things work out.
Waiting is the operative word. We’ll need to be patient
because it may take time for the results to be revealed. It’s quite possible,
perhaps likely, that we won’t know with any certainty until tomorrow at the
earliest. Though, we may see trends emerging that tell us how things might turn
out. But again patience is required,
especially this year, with so many votes cast early and by mail. I believe the
system will work if we let it.
My greater concern is voter suppression and intimidation. Court
challenges are being initiated that are designed to prevent votes from being
counted. Then there’s the possibility of intimidation at the polls. Here in
Michigan voters can bring their guns to the polls. It’s one of the reasons why my
community moved precincts out of the schools to churches and other facilities
where children aren’t present. If you go to the precinct and see people with
guns on their hips, do you feel safe? These are important questions, which is
one of the reasons so many voted absentee.
Now, the Presidential election is important, especially this
round. But down-ballot races are just as important. Control of the Senate is at
stake, which is why I voted for Gary Peters. Then there’s Congress, and I voted
for Haley Stevens for re-election in a district that was designed to elect Republicans,
but she was able to flip the seat in 2018 (along with Elisa Slotkin in the neighboring district). She's done a great job. Then there’s the State Legislature, where my
friend Padma Kuppa is running for re-election. She flipped a seat that had been
traditionally held by Republicans in 2018. And she's tenacious when it comes to doing her best for her community! All three of these individuals are capable
and honest representatives of the people. I hope they are all reelected. Then
there’s a millage (a property tax assessment) to provide for the local library.
If it goes down the busiest library in the county will close down (and Cheryl will
be without a job).
So, did you vote? If not, there’s still time, at least until
the polls close!
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