You’re Worth It! Get Out and Vote!

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

I read an interesting article in the Business Insider yesterday.  The article, link here, provided me with a unique insight into the history of voting rights in America. Critical dates in time:

• 1856:  White men given the right to vote

• 1870:  The 15th Amendment prevented denying the right to vote based on race – essentially providing the right to vote to people of color.

• 1920:  The 19th Amendment grants the right to vote to women excluding Native American and Asian Americans

• 1924: The Indian Citizenship Act provides Native Americans full citizenship thus providing the right to vote

• 1952:  The McCarren-Walter Act gives all Asian Americans the right to become citizens and vote

• 1965:  Voting Rights Act removes barriers that kept many people of color from voting, including poll taxes, literary bans, obtaining "pre-clearance," and other measures

• 1971:  Voting age lowered from 21 to 18

• 1993:  National Voter Registration Act is passed, making it easier to register

 As I reviewed the article and thought about all that is happening in the United States today, I couldn't help but pause.  I felt overwhelmed thinking of every person that brought us to where we are today. I'm not enough of a historian to think of all of the names, but the list is long and includes – Frederick Douglas, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Martin Luther King, Harriet Tubman, John Lewis, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, and so many more — men and women throughout our short history that protested, rioted, sat down, stood up, bonded together, created laws, broke laws, went to jail, went to church, walked over bridges, were beaten, were whipped, were falsely accused, were shot, were murdered, were terrorized, were attacked by dogs, were ostracized, were slandered, were punched, were drug by cars, were hung, went to war, were made pariahs, were sprayed with hoses, were homeless, and had to endeavor so many more atrocities.  All of these people did these things in the name of what is right so that you and I would be called and treated as human beings in the United States and be afforded the rights that came with them – including the right to vote.

When I think of it, it brings me to my knees.

We take so much in our daily lives for granted.

We spend so much time living through the lives of others.

We love our opinion so much that we don't need to hear the opinion of others.  Let alone facts.

Instead of praying for the help and love needed in the world for those who need it the most — we pray that these individuals aren't given our things — our money, possessions, etc.

And yet, there is still so much love, caring, gratitude, and joy in the world.  People are beautiful.  We may not see it in the news every day, but every day I read or see a story of someone doing something extraordinary for humanity — every single day. 

Historically, countless individuals literally laid their lives down so that we could lift ours up.  Voting is one of those human rights we've been given in the United States.  I think of the names of the people that I'll never personally know — the sung and unsung heroes, and it compels me to tell you to vote.

I'm not here to judge a point of view and don't care where you sit – red, blue, black, white, rich, poor – it doesn't matter.  The right to vote in the United States has been paid for by human lives.  We need to honor those efforts.

I've said this many times, and I'll say it to you — if we are looking to politicians as our moral compass, then we will be sorely disappointed. We're looking in the wrong places. We're all human, and we'll all disappoint.  But, that doesn't mean that the hearts of politicians aren't in the right place. It's not easy to be a politician — called a "public servant" whose lives are often thoroughly scrutinized.  Yet, many still believe and hold values that you and I find dear to our hearts.  Many have great intentions.  Get educated.  Go to Vote.org or your Secretary of State's website and find out who they are, what they stand for, and vote for them on November 3rd – or before.  Go and vote through rain, sleet, intimidation, methods designed to keep you from voting, indifference, lack of information, or whatever may be keeping you from casting your vote. 

You've been given this right. 

Your voice matters.

Vote — and help others do so as well.

You’re worth it!