Make Your Voice Heard: Vote in 2020
There is sickness in our country. From COVID-19 to racism. From lack of affordable health care to climate change. It can feel incredibly overwhelming to truly ponder how much change needs to happen in order to make genuine progress towards a more fair and sustainable country and world. For the most part, we have all had more time to sit and dwell on the sadness and struggle that has surrounded much of our country for so long. What should I do? Where should I focus my energy? How should I take action?
There are many answers to these questions. Many solutions and things we can each do to help make change. And fortunately, one of the most important things we can do is also, for many of us, a very simple task. Voting.
There are issues with voting, some of which Stacey Abrams discusses in her piece, “We’ve Got To Talk About Power.” But she also makes it known that with voting comes power and hope. It is an essential element of using your voice in our democracy. Voting works. Whether you choose to go in-person or to utilize the option of voting by mail. It is necessary that you make your voice heard that you want change. That you deserve change.
Don’t let technicalities stop you from voting. Make sure that you have registered. Go to vote.org to find out what your state requires. Make sure you have a proper ID. Take advantage of voting by mail. Here is an article that shares how you can go about accessing that option.
The United States is teetering on the edge. We are going to fall one way or the other. Put your vote and its weight onto the side that, at the very least, holds space for discussion of equality and unity. Are the candidates perfect? No. Are their platforms everything we need? No. But that does not mean skipping out and ignoring the process that has the potential to work. Systems are flawed. Candidates are flawed. Our country is flawed. We are flawed. But it still works.
Do not let this opportunity pass. So often elections are looked at by the percentages of votes for each candidate. The number of eligible voters who opted not to participate are left out. The people who felt like their voice wouldn’t make a difference. When 100 million people didn’t vote in the 2016 election, it is clear that those voices matter quite a lot.
Make your voice heard. Make your views known. Help to heal us.
You can see if you’re already registered and learn more about candidates here.