Today is the finish line. Or is it?
Voting wasn't supposed to be like this.
If, in 2016, we could have seen into the future...a future of long, long voting lines, people wearing masks while they wait and while they vote, stores boarding up in expectation of riots, lawsuits, voting sites full of hand sanitizer and this thing called "social distancing"...A future full of absentee ballots, people trying to vote by mail, anxiety, and a dysfunctional post office....
This is the building I voted in, the building that was the subject of one of my most visited posts, Snow Doors, now turned into an early voting site for the first time.
(This is what the building looks like now - it's a Taste of New York store, and the snow door is gone)
If we were able to see into the future in 2016, would we have done things any different? Would more of us have turned out to vote? Would more of us have cared then the way we care now?
There is nothing like feeling you are about to lose what you've got to motivate you. That's why people took pictures of themselves on line, or pictures of the scenery as they waited, or their "I voted" stickers.
Our lives, every one of our lives, has been changed by COVID-19. But one thing hasn't changed - we have the right, and the duty, to vote.
Need non partisan election help: Try this site, established after the 2000 Presidential election that was decided by the courts.
Need to talk to someone about election protection: these are hotlines open right now
One of many articles about voter anxiety (noting I am not a mental health professional, and if you feel you need professional help, please seek it immediately! Otherwise, these may help.
I admit, I've been doing too much doom scrolling lately. (If you follow me on Twitter, by the way, you will know immediately where I stand politically.)
I can't see into the future. Maybe I wouldn't want to look if I was able to. But, I have no doubt in my mind that the future of our democracy is at stake today. We have two opposing sides, looking at our current events and convinced that if the other side of the aisle wins, we will be plunged into a most horrible future.
We are tearing ourselves apart. Family members aren't talking to each other. Neighbors aren't talking to each other. We are in our own bubbles.
Can we unite? Or will we be torn totally apart in the coming days and weeks?
We must unite.
Our alternative is another civil war. Our first one didn't end well, but it did produce a speech that is considered one of the greatest speeches in American history.
The war also produced more misery than any of us can imagine. We don't want to go down that road. We don't want a speech written during another civil war becoming something our descendants study in school.
If you haven't voted yet, please don't sit this one out. Get to a poll and cast your ballot. In some states, you can register at your polling place on Election Day, in fact.
Vote, if you haven't. You will feel better.
American democracy will thank you.
I think our entire democracy was at stake 4 years ago, we just didn't realize it. I'm not sure we could have changed anything and unfortunately we thought we had all the mechanisms in place to stop a power grab (like checks and balances, impeachment), how naive we were. Experience has forced me to be more of a pessimist this time around, but I still have hope.
ReplyDelete...the last 4 years have shown glimpses of hell!
ReplyDeleteVoted with a mail-in ballot in October, put it in a drop box, received notice that it was received and counted. YAY!
ReplyDeleteDid you know the terms red state and blue state were coined by Barack Obama in 2004? The reality is most states are purple. I live in a blue state but have a lot of friends who vote Republican. A civil war in these times wouldn’t be geographical. I hope we can come together as a country after this election, that’s why I voted for someone who can unite us, not someone who divides us.
ReplyDeleteI’ve got my Xanax ready for when I watch the election returns tonight ...
I was in use before Obama. In 2000 on the Today Show they were discussing the states, and the map happened to be using blue and red to show who had what states. One of them just happened to wonder how Bush would get more of the red states, "so to speak." After that large publications starting using the red and blue.
DeleteMy state votes blue, but my county is red.
And we will all also feel better if we also find our way back to each other. Unity! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteFour years ago the Detroit News did not endorse a Presidential candidate cause they didn't like either one. I blame them for Trump winning since a lot of Democrats sat home. Now, they said they couldn't endorse a candidate for 2020 because they don't share the same values as the newspaper. I sure am glad I buy the Detroit Free Press! No media for me today. I still remember my devastation from 2016 on the morning after.
ReplyDeleteIt's rare to find a candidate that shares 100% of our values! Now's the time to vote against the one who has no values!
DeleteI feel you, sistah.
ReplyDeleteCarol Cassara
YES! People in other countries fight and die for this right. We in our 'free' western societies take far too much for granted. We've witnessed what can happen when we don't care enough. Or TAKE CARE enough. VOTE!!!
ReplyDeletePraying for my sisters in my sister country today!
Alana, "Our democracy is at stake" is not an over-statement. No truer words were said.
ReplyDeleteOur governor decided everyone in our state gets a vote-by-mail ballot. So, I voted two weeks ago. And I did vote in 2016. It's hard to sit on the sidelines and hope everyone else does their part, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteVoted by mail. Thank you for voting and now we wait.
ReplyDeleteStay Safe and Coffee is on
I am waiting nervously. Virginia made me proud, in spite of local yahoos spreading rumors and beating their chests.
ReplyDelete