The never . . . ever . . . ever ending election. I don't think it will be over today. I sure hope that when there is a result it will finally be over.
And yet.
I am so grateful to have a voice. Albeit small and one of of many, it is still my voice. I am grateful to live in a country where I cannot be imprisoned for saying what I think, and for encouraging others to see things my way. I am grateful for our democracy even in all its messy, broken difficulty.
This talk was given by Elder Oaks in 1992. It is a wonderful discourse on our Constitution and how our founding fathers really put together our country. There is no one way of viewing these men or this process. Maybe democracy is supposed to be hard. That way we keep fighting for it.
I posted this on Facebook yesterday. Many of you probably saw it there. I was surprised at how large and positive the response was. If all or part of it seems worth repeating or passing on, please do. And share your own messages of solidarity on this day that has both great power to divide or unite our country:
I remember Election Day 2000. We stayed up late. And then later. And still later. After midnight we called it quits and woke up the next morning and the next and the next for many weeks, still without a president. In the end only nine votes mattered. My science classes that morning after were mostly suspended as I taught civics, trying to help my middle school students understand why Mr. Gore wasn
't the president even though he had
more votes. My prayer on election day eve is this: That whatever the
outcome, help me to be accepting and patriotic. Help me to love my
country and still be a bold critic of its policies when warranted. Help
me to know that it does matter if I vote. Bless the outcome to seem fair
and honest to the majority of Americans. Help each person who wants to
cast a vote to find a way to do so. Please bless the election to be
decided by the people and not two legislative houses relishing in the
most broken parts of our system. And above all, Dear God, above all, I
pray that this election isn't decided by nine people who already hold
too much sway by the immoral amount of money they have unleashed into
this contest. On Wednesday, I pray that we will use our passion and
treasure to move forward and stop splintering asunder. Our ancestors
fought to unite this land. . . please give us the courage to make good
on their promise, with malice toward none and charity toward all, let us
finally recognize the promise and become the United States of America.
1 comment:
People in my neck of the woods are standing in lines for 1-2 hours to cast their votes. I got to the polls before they opened at 6am to make sure that I'd be able to cast my vote and still get to work on time. We grumble about the wait, but I think it's awesome that so many people are exercising their right to vote.
Even if the election is decided tonight, unfortunately we'll only have a short break before campaigning for the next presidential contest begins. There are parts of our political process that I love and other parts - the time and money that politicians spend campaigning - that sicken me.
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