I’m having mixed emotions today. I’m filled both with shame and pride. You see today is election day, and the root of my sentimental conflict comes from this statement:
This is my first time voting.
I’ve been ‘of age’ for almost seven years now and I repeat, this is my first time voting. There is a freedom in this country of which I had not taken advantage, until today. Let me just say, as a first timer, it is one of the most empowering things I have ever done.
It wasn’t the action of filling in bubbles next to my selections (I’d done that for 16 years) or even handing my sealed envelope to the smiling woman at the library around the corner that fueled my pride. Believe it or not, it was the sticker.
Yes, just as my two-year-old grins with excessive cheese while placing a colorful adhesive on her chest, so did I with a red, white and blue oval. You guys know I can’t help but be deep, so allow me to explain my thought process.
Just decades ago, people protested and fought, desperate to have their voices heard — to have laws changed, leaders elected because of what mattered to them. Black people, female people…my people.
I’ve come up with every excuse in the last few years not to vote, and honestly, each one fails to the hope of possibly having my opinions represented.
My generation is notorious for that ‘being heard’ concept. We’re also equally noted for our lack of participation on days like today. We snap, tweet, post and update our bold opinions daily on social media. It’s great, but ineffective if not complemented with casting a ballot.
I cringe to think of the possibility that the state of our country is a result of my nonexistent say.
“They won’t listen unless you speak where you’re heard.”
That’s a pretty dope quote I just thought of myself. And with it, I’ll conclude by saying what they all say: Vote. Please vote.
*****
Some of you know I started this blog to document the moments in my life that remind me of God’s promises. I call those moments rainbows, so here’s the rainbow.
Although imperfect, the nation I live in is free. It brings to mind a greater, complete freedom that I live in each day.
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2 Cor. 3:17
