I voted yesterday. I live in Washington State, so there are no polling locations. You either mail it in or deposit your ballot in a ballot box. I personally chose the ballot box, mainly because I want to have control of my vote being received. I must admit, however, that the part of me that enjoys affirmation and positive reinforcement does miss being given the badge of honor ‘I Voted’ sticker as a reward for fulfilling my civic duty. Petty, I know…but honest. Is anyone with me on this?

Before you read on, know that this is not going to be a political post. Ok, yes. It seems like everything nowadays is/can be political. I agree. But my heart for sharing my thoughts today is much larger than that.

Between the voters’ guide, multiple state and federal websites and news articles it took me about 90 minutes to fill out my ballot.

(side rant) Does it bother anyone else when there are elected offices on the ballot with a single name? Why should they get my vote simply because they don’t have anyone running against them? I could leave it blank, but….oh, I digress.

Back to who I voted for!

Let me start by listing a few issues/stances that are particularly important to me.

• Affordable, quality healthcare should be accessible to every American.
• Accurate COVID-19 information must be given to the public in an efficient, timely, and honest manner. In a pandemic, some public health mandates are necessary, but every community is unique and should be given the authority to decide the best course for their community.
• A human life begins at conception. And all lives are precious. This must be protected.
• Yes, black lives matter. Creating a better, more just future for all people of color in America will not happen by re-writing history and removing statues. History is exactly that…history. But we must make big changes and improvements in our legal system. Equal treatment and equal justice for everyone in our country should be our target. The black community cannot and should not do this alone. White Americans must step up to initiate change with them. What we need is tougher laws against hate crimes and hate speech. Additionally, law enforcement training needs some intentional reform.
• The use of diplomacy and military action can both be effective with managing international relations and issues of conflict. It takes humility and wisdom to know when to use either one. The USA puts itself in a bad spot when our Commander and Chief leans heavily one way or the other.
• The 2nd Amendment for Americans to posses firearms must be defended. There is, however, much need for better screening and stricter laws for gun owners who don’t have licenses and permits.

Now, combine all of that with the fact that I’m a middle-aged white male, Evangelical Christian, who generally leans toward conservativism. Depending how you view the above issues and what has shaped your own worldview, some of you would assume I voted for Trump. Still, there are others who would think I clearly voted for Biden. Oddly interesting, right?

Regardless of who I voted for and who you vote for, we do need to pray for our leaders (1 Tim. 2:1-2) and abide by the laws that are enacted during their administration (Rom. 13:1). We don’t have to be happy with whoever is elected President of the United States when we wake up on 11/4, but we must move on. We must continue to move forward. We have a choice to make. We can spend the next 4 years complaining, bashing, protesting whichever administration ends up in the White House….OR we can rise above the circumstances and our own pride to actually work toward bipartisan change.

By now you’re probably realizing that I’m not going to actually name the candidate I voted for. Why? Not because I’m a private person or that I’m worried about people making judgements about me. Simply because there would be no purpose in doing that. When we know who everyone votes for we make judgements on them as a person, assume their political affiliation, and conclude whether or not we are on the same side. All of this is superficial and meaningless.

I honest don’t care how you vote. But I will give much more attention to how our society chooses to move forward and posture ourselves following 11/3.

All comments are welcome. Please vote!

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