Tuesday is Election Day


I met Barry Goldwater once.  It was 1964.  I was heading off to college but was eager to campaign, even though I could not vote.  [For those who are not eligible for Medicare, let me remind you that until 1971 voting in Federal elections was reserved for those of at least 21 years of age.]  I was 17 when I met Sen. Goldwater.  He shook my hand, proceeded to give a spectacular speech at the Denver, Colorado civic arena, and I was hooked.  At first it was just the excitement of being a Goldwater Girl.  As I became more involved I decided politics was a great national sport.  As I got older—and wiser—it became government that I loved. 

 

            I do admit to growing up in a politically involved family.  Mom was a Republican, Dad a part-time Democrat; politics was served at every meal and the only rule was you had to keep one foot on the floor.  The result of this early training and Goldwater excitement was an adult who loves the political machinations that make this country a working unit.  I have worked the polls for many years and many elections.  Since I also had a job, I always asked to poll from 6 to 8 in the morning, then leave for work.  Those November mornings were dark, cold, damp—and wonderful.  I would greet every voter with the same phrase, “It’s a great day to be an American.” 

 

Tuesday is Election Day.  That is the day we get to practice what we preach.  On Tuesday we have a voice in what happens in our lives.  As we watch the returns come in, some people are going to be made excited, surprised, shocked, sad or grateful by the election results.  Some people are going to put everything on the line and be disappointed.  Others are going to find that their fondest dreams come true, or their worse fears realized.  The one thing I hope no one feels on Tuesday is anger.

 

First of all, anger is always a useless, energy sapping and wasteful emotion.  Second, if you really love this Democracy; if you really love this Constitution; if you really love this country, its history and its promise, then you can not hate the fruit of its most solemn ritual.  Elections always have winners and losers.  We, as a country, have not always made the right choice and we have paid the price for those mistakes.  But we have had the choice!   We have learned from both our successes and our failures.  The worst President has not ruined us.  The worst Congressmen have not broken us.  The most insensitive and unrealistic amendments, laws and regulations have not stopped our search for governmental perfection.  We have a choice!  Our laws and law makers are placed before the bar of personal adjudication at regular intervals.  We have a choice!

 

Tuesday is Election Day.  On November 6th the world’s oldest living Democracy allows every eligible citizen to choose.  On that day, we do something so uniquely American that the world holds us up as an example of fierce devotion to freedom.  While I would love to have my side win all the time, I love the act of voting too much to revile the other side if I lose.  Maybe Barry Goldwater would have been a better President than Lyndon Johnson.  But truth does not come from God’s mouth to my ear.  I have to trust the democratic process.  On Election Day some people will lose, some ideas will lose, but democracy itself wins every time. 

 

Support what you believe in, vote, accept the results and keep the faith.   

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