Tag: Voting

If You Are Upset About the Election, I Understand

Published on by KimLeave a comment

If the result of this week’s election has left you angry, scared, and concerned for the future of our country, I want you to know that I understand how you feel.  I have experienced those same feelings.  I know what it is to have a flood of anger rush over you.  You scratch your head, “What were these people thinking?”  I know what it is to feel a deep concern for the direction our nation is headed.  I know how it feels to experience fear over what kind of nation our children will grow up in, what kind of nation they will raise their own family in, what kind of a nation you will grow gray-haired and old in.  I know what it is to be gravely concerned about the security of this nation. I know what it is like to look at the television with tears in your eyes as the election results come in.  I know what it is to grieve for a land that you love and call home.

I know how you feel, because I felt the same rush of emotion eight years ago, then again four years ago.   I was not part of the exuberant mass of people applauding President Obama’s election.  I remember feeling a momentary sense of pride that our nation had broken the racial barrier, yet I was deeply saddened.   I was saddened because I did not align myself with his platform.  Our vision for this country was not the same.  The policies that he wished to implement were not in line with mine.  I felt so strongly that his leadership would take our country to places I was not willing to go.  That night I was sad; I had a heavy heart.

I was not alone on that evening.  There were tens of millions of Americans who had the same concerns as me.  Millions of Americans who cast a different vote from the populace.  Many of those people were instantaneously labeled as racist.  How could they be anything else, right?  People who had never met me, talked with me, seen my life in action, assumed that I had an anti-something agenda.  They were unable to understand why I would vote otherwise.

My opposition to President Obama had nothing to do with the messenger but everything to do with the message.  And you know what, that is fine.  In nearly every single election, tens of millions of American citizens disagree with the President-Elect.

Our nation is not populated by programmable robots.   We are individuals from different backgrounds; our life stories are different.  Our struggles and passions are not identical.  That is America.  You and I have the right to be different.  My beliefs do not have to be your beliefs.  Your passions do not have to be mine.  Anything less than that is frankly unamerican.

Eight years ago I had a choice.  I could become angry and bitter, or I could accept that President Obama was my president.  I chose the later.  President Obama was and is my president.  While I have disagreed with the majority (not all) of his actions, I have had to respect the fact that the majority of my fellow Americans wanted to give him a chance.  I had to accept the fact that they were unhappy with the path the previous administration had taken them down, and they wanted change.  That is the beauty that is America.  If you are not happy with the status quo you can cast your vote for change.  We are a privileged people who have this power and ability.

So this week the people spoke.  They sent a message that they were not happy with the path that our country is on.  They want change.  They used their power to send a message.  The majority of Americans spoke, and change will come.  And you know what, that is fine.  While I did not vote for Hillary Clinton, because again, I did not agree with her message, I have my concerns with Donald Trump as well.  Let it be known that the candidate of my choice never made it past the primaries.

So as I watch protests and the burning of my American flag by American citizens, I am grieved.  I am grieved for some who cannot accept loss.  I am grieved for some who cannot function in the face of disappointment.  I am grieved for those who label their opposition as racists, bigots, and homophobes.  I am grieved for some who fail to understand the very fabric of these United States of America.  I am grieved to see my nation evolving into an intolerant land where those who have opinions and beliefs that are different are deemed a hateful threat and won’t be tolerated.  I am grieved that we need safe spaces and days off from school to cope with loss.  I am grieved for some who call for changing the Constitution because they didn’t get their way.  I am grieved that America has lost sight of what America is and what it means to be American.

It is my prayer, that just as I had to do eight years ago, people will realize that their fellow Americans…good, hard-working, concerned, Americans, wanted change.   Please don’t label them as evil.  Please do not see them as the enemy.  Please remember that this is what America is all about.  Should the next four years not be to your liking, you have the power to petition for change through your vote.

How Will My Life Change After the Election?

Published on by Kim2 Comments

It was roughly three years ago.  I was in my kitchen preparing lunch.  As I typically did, I turned on the radio to catch up on some news and the political talk of the day.  I listened for no more than five minutes then promptly turned the radio off in frustration.  I dried my hands and picked up the ringing phone.  It was my husband.  He usually called at lunch time to check in with the boys and me.

“I can’t do it anymore,” I snapped.  “I can’t listen to the radio.  I can’t watch the news.  I can’t read the paper.  I am powerless to change any of this.  I just can’t do it anymore.”

Those were the first words that spewed from my mouth after my husband said hello.  I continued to explain that all of the political banter and divisiveness was affecting me.  Thinking about all that was wrong with our country was stirring up such angst within me that it was interfering with my primary roles in life.  I was a Christian, a wife, and mother.  The worry, concern, and disgust I had for the state of government and politics in general was taking a toll.

So from that day on, I tuned out.   No more radio, no more political talk, no more evening news, or internet searches.  No more blood pressure rising.  No more frustration over what I was powerless to change.  No more.  Simply no more.

I was going to put all of my efforts into the things that I could change, the things that I had control over.  My walk with the Lord.  Rooting out the unlovely parts of me.  Supporting and loving my husband more.  Being there completely for my kids and not letting my frustrations become theirs.  Although I had already been in the Word, been loving and enjoying my relationship with my husband, and spending good quality time with my boys,  there was this distraction, this gloomy gray cloud that hung over me.   I’m sure it robbed me of joy.  I know it robbed me of peace, and most importantly, it shifted my eyes off of the Lord.  That needed to change.

I really lifted this up to the Lord, and not surprisingly, He provided me with the direction that I needed.

I realized that the Lord had planted me in this time, in this country, in my state, as part of my town.  He placed me on my street, in my house, with my family.  All within His plan for me.  He called me to make this place, my home, my place of influence for Him.   Paul effectively stated the same belief:

…and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation… Acts 17:26

While this little ol’ housewife from New Jersey wasn’t going to influence the face of Washington, the Lord did grant to me great influence in the lives of the people who are around me.  In fact, He has given you that same calling, that same influence, to be  a light to those around you.  Maybe that means your spouse, your children, your neighbors, your co-workers, or your friends.  The last thing this world needs is one more person jumping into the political debate.  The first thing this world needs is one more person spreading the Lord’s message of love and salvation.  Only then will the world truly change, only then can the face of Washington and our politicians truly change.

Now please realize that I am not advocating completely turning a blind eye to what is going on around you.  I am not saying that you should throw your hands up in the air and sit back and watch the government have its way.  No, not at all.  You do have a voice; I have a voice, and it should be used.  I am simply saying that if you find yourself in the position I was, where your mind is preoccupied, distracted, and troubled, you need to change gears.  You need to re-evaluate your priorities and remind yourself that there is One who is in complete control, even while the world seems to be spinning out of control.

So as I prepare to cast my vote this Election Day, I am reminded that regardless of the outcome, my life will not change.  I will still be a wife: I will still be a mother, and I will still have the same calling as a child of the Lord.   No change of leadership, no changing of the law will take that away.