Election Day

It's not about right versus left, nor liberal versus conservative. It's not about tax breaks or increases. It's not about slogans, clothes, or handshakes. It's about people... living their lives, both rich and poor, separate individuals with a future that is intertwined at so many levels that we'd rather not openly admit it.

I've tried to consider arguments on both sides of the aisle. On one hand, what a person works for, what they earn, ought not be taken from them and given to another. Yet at the same time, I can no more so ignore the cries of people who suffer from sickness when relief is available but financially out of reach. I can sympathize with the dreams and ambitions of an entrepreneur setting out on an uncertain path, gambling everything on the hope of a better life for his or her family. And I am saddened for those who share this dream, but are never provided with the means and ability to embark on the journey for it.

As long as I can remember, I have felt empty when I see our place in the world. We can do better. I've seen the people of our country demonstrate kindness to strangers during Katrina, I've seen limitless compassion and prayers after 9/11, and I've seen our soldiers' courageous fight for justice in a world so cloaked in despair.

However, despite these examples, we are failing. When genocide threatens entire regions of the earth, how dare we sit back and say we've done enough? When the arguments once used to persecute minorities are being resurrected to target people based on their orientation, why do so many stay silent?

Government can't provide solutions for all these problems, but you can.

Today is election day in the United States, and this is our chance to do better. Stand up, vote! I am not writing to say that you should vote for one particular candidate. However I am writing to remind you that there is more at stake than taxes and war. For the first time in recent memory, I feel that the election isn't between the lesser of two evils. I think there is a genuine opportunity at hand to make the world a better place, for both Democrats and Republicans, for both rich and poor, for the right and the left. We can make America better, we can make the world better. Today, we have the unique opportunity to stand up, cast off lingering doubt, ignore the fear that has been the companion of politics for the past 8 years, and be counted among those who will do better, for no reason other than because we want to and because we recognize that we have to.

Please, go vote!