I Voted
It is voting day in the USA and I see people out and about wearing their ‘I Voted’ stickers. My local ballot appeared very unexciting with its three little items – one for town council and two for high school union members. I knew nothing about any of it and that didn’t put me off from voting and feeling excited to do so.
It is not lost on me that, as a woman, my legal right to vote has existed for only 95 years. The movement, women’s suffrage, began in 1840 so it took 80 years of hard battle to win that right. The 19th amendment to the U. S. Constitution was added in 1920. Thank you ancestor sisters!
There are so many things I wish I could have voted on directly like whether to invade Iraq years ago, or whether to spend $43 MILLION to build a gas station in Afghanistan (yup, check recent headlines). We can’t vote on things like that except through the people we put in office or through our personal actions such as petitions, marches, letters, phone calls etc.
Some of the people we have put in office are actively seeking to block U.S. citizens from voting. I’m glad that groups exist that are acting to rectify those misuses of power. I’m happy too that there are so many organizations working on my behalf and allowing my voice to join theirs. It’s one way to honor those who fought for us decades ago.
We still have people on the front lines today though the issues have changed to discrimination, LGBT rights, police overreach, women’s health freedoms… Let’s not wait 80 years for the obvious tide to turn.
It starts with a little exercise – exercising the right to vote. And maybe sign a few petitions (see some suggested sites below). The word vote comes from the Latin and means vow. I vow to let politicians know that I have my eyes, ears and lever-pulling fingers on what they are, and aren’t doing on my behalf. It’s the least I could do for my ancestor sisters and for future generations who will be affected by the actions we do – and do not – take today.
It’s all improv,
Jody Kaylor
Related Resources:
“Voting is the expression of our commitment to ourselves, one another, this country and the world.” – Sharon Salzberg
Here are a few suggested sites. Some of many: