Democracy
“Democracy
can be named and put behind bars. But democracy will come out to
rise
and shine to take the people out from the darkness toward the bright ray of
light. It is a ray of hope in all the darkness surrounding.”
Sumiran
Garu (Economist, Somaiya College of Arts, Sciences and Commerce, Mumbai, India)
Both my
sons are standing in long lines to vote this morning. I will be a little later.
I can’t remember an election in which people lined up for blocks around a
polling place. It’s good to see Americans not taking their democracy for
granted. In a democracy the people have the authority to select their leaders
and choose how their government will operate, but if people do not take the
time to vote, none of that matters. This is the first time in my life that our
democracy has been challenged—but that’s only because I’m white. People of
color have lived with it for as long as they have been here. If nothing else,
the current administration has shone a bright light on that injustice. In order
to call ourselves a democracy, everyone must have a voice and a vote.
People
who have endured dictatorships consider voting a privilege rather than a burden.
Certainly, it is an obligation. I have an old car that I park in a driveway
under black-oak trees. The sap that falls on the roof and hood of the car
sticks like glue to it. Driving through a car wash does not remove it. I can
pay someone else a lot of money to wash it for me, or I can get out in my
driveway with a garden hose and a bucket of soapy water and scrub it off
myself. Either way, it is my obligation to take care of it. If I don’t, the
paint will be permanently ruined and when I want to trade it in, the car will
be less valuable. Pay the cost on this end or pay the price on the other.
Voting is like that too. If you don’t vote because it is inconvenient, don’t complain
about the results. And if you vote but your candidates don’t win, then know
that the will of the people has been heard and make the best of it. That’s how
a democracy works—you win some and you lose some and it all comes out equal in
the end. As my old daddy would say, “Buck up, Bucko! You’ll live!”
I hope
you vote today—exercise your right, your privilege, and your obligation. I know
I will. And let us walk out of the voting booth praying for peace. Hopefully,
God will bless America today.
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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