In about 24 hours, this election season will come to a close. College textbooks and history will likely analyze this election, as will all of us who lived it.
Tomorrow, we have the distinct honor to exercise our right to vote amidst this madness. For a long time, I’ve been sitting on this set of ideas I wanted to share…mostly regarding a desperate plea to others to go vote. I definitely still stand on that platform…especially in light of all those who sacrificed their lives for this great privilege. Please. Go vote. Not because you have to. But because you get to when millions around the world never will.
In the long run though, I have instead found myself wanting to share with those who read this where I hope we land when all this is over.
I am a Republican, and I’m going to vote for Trump. I am not a Republican because my parents brought me up that way nor because I am a FOX news junkie-though both those things are true. I am a big girl with my own thoughts, my own opinons and beliefs, and my own convictions. The Republican platform best represents my ideals for this country and the ideals on which I believe our founding fathers – though imperfect – founded this great nation.
I am not a Republican because the platform is perfect. In fact, as a general rule, I believe the Republican party has lost its ability to love others and to take care of our citizens with deep compassion and kindness. It can neither stand up with conviction nor healthily compromise separate from a decision regarding power, money, greed, or re-election. I am also not voting for Trump because I think he is a good man nor because I believe all the opinions of well-meaning people who claim he has been redeemed into a solid, moral person. I am not voting for him because he is honest nor an incredible change agent. I have wrestled with the claims against him, and I have therefore had to wrestle with what my vote represents in this election. My vote represents the direction I want the country to go. In this election in particular, my vote stands for nothing more, nothing less. Voting for Trump gets me the closest I can be to the conservative policies I believe in.
But if we are all honest, in this election, that is about the most anyone on either side of the aisle can hope for. Because, if we – liberals and conservatives alike – let down our defenses, back up from our staunch positions, and just level with one another as regular, every-day, hard-working American citizens, we would likely all agree that, in the above paragraph, “Republican” and “Democrat” and “Trump” and “Clinton” are equally interchangeable.
In my most poignant and meaningful conversation I had this political season, I talked with a dear friend who is as strongly a Democrat as I am a Republican. And together, we talked about this failed American system that is slowly leading us to an aristocracy of upper-class elite individuals running our country. We exchanged honest reflections about both candidates. We shared our disappointment in our parties that have failed us in so many ways. We shared conversation about the strength of our opponent’s parties, the weaknesses of our own, and the disappointment of where we stand today.
Neither of us was going to convince the other to change our positions. Nor did we try. But instead, we listened. She is as strongly against voting for Trump as I am against voting for Hilary. She has her reasons, and I have mine. And while we will likely always vehemently disagree with one another, there was – at the exact same time – a profound love and respect for one another that was grounded in a shared faith and a deep love of country.
We may believe in different paths to get there, but we still desire for a free America that leads to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In reality – no matter how strongly we feel convicted to vote a certain way – isn’t that what we all want?
In 24 hours, when all this is over, may we remember that we are brothers. We work alongside one another and live in communities together. We may have different backgrounds and different lifestyles, but we are all citizens of this great nation. We have the great privilege of being unique and diverse from one another. May we also experience the great privilege we have of loving one another.
May we – in our passion for our country and in this election – see less of what divides us and more of what joins us together. May we find ways to show compassion to those in need. May we find ways to give generously of our time and our efforts to help others.
May we – in our courage and strength – set aside the spins of the media and pundits (on whatever channel we watch) and the talking points of journalists and politicians to be authentic with one another. To be real and trustworthy with our neighbor. To work hard with integrity. To be those who give direct answers to questions. To have a “yes” mean “yes” and a “no” mean “no.” May we not succumb to the ways in which our media or politicians guide us. May we instead rise above to challenge one another to think, to push each other to be honest and forthright, to stand up for our beliefs, to honor each other’s diverse opinions. May we be the individuals that promote unity even amidst diverse thought and opposing views. May we not sway so far left or so far right that we leave our brother on the side of the road.
When this is all over, may we stand together – not as Democrats or Republicans who won or lost an election, but instead – as regular American citizens…citizens entrenched in our own stories of life that have shaped us…but also entrenched in our collective desire to do good, to love others, to celebrate our freedoms, to fight for this great nation…and to be united as one in these great states of America.