The Choice We Have To Make

Our daily news prompts us to make a choice

We are expected to make a choice this fall when we vote. While some may add that we need to make several choices because of the many offices that are up for election. I’ll repeat, however, we must make a choice—singular, one, and only.

Political pundits fill the news media with their opinions and rationales and comments on history. I find I enjoy hearing what they have to say. I learn about the world, its history, and a bit about the tested values I have.

Which underscores the choice we must make.

The Trump White House prompts us to make a choice

As Trump entered the White House, I was often surprised, dismayed, frustrated, and riveted to absorb yet more news. It’s rather like watching a train wreck—a political train wreck. Who can turn away?

062718 Train Wreck

Before any of my Republican friends and relatives chide me for seemingly being anti-Republican, I’ll repeat what I’ve often said. Democrats need a healthy and functioning Republican Party. And the same advice goes for the Republicans. Healthy and Functioningare the operative words here for all political parties.

Recently, the political train wreck has collapsed too close to where I stand. Now I’m angry!

Our children prompt us to make a choice

As our nation, which I admire and love, has recently and intentionally separated children from parents for the sake of national security; I know the political train has left the tracks. As I watch our White House administration lie and blame and lash out with its failing defense, my anger compounds.

I’m an older white male. I’m a grandfather, which, by the way, there is no better title. I care about children. They are the innocent and vulnerable among us—regardless of their country of origin. Children are our future—regardless of their country of origin. To do less than care for these is to our shame. As Christ tells us in Matthew 19:14, regarded children, “…for such is the kingdom of heaven.”

Who are we that we cause harm to children? Make no mistake; we are doing harm whenever we wrench children away from parents. It’s harm to them, to us, and to our collective future.

We must make a choice.

Our history prompts us to make a choice

062718 The Soul of America

Jon Meacham quotes Eleanor Roosevelt in his recent novel, The Soul of America:

The course of history is directed by the choices we make and our choices grow out of the ideas, the beliefs, the values, the dreams of the people.”

Eleanor Roosevelt believed in the people. She believed in their combined voice. She wanted everyone’s voice to be heard. Our ideas, beliefs, values, and dreams guide the choices we make when we vote. She emphasized how vital is the:

…powerful influence of the combined voice of the people themselves.

Meacham points to what he calls the Soul of Americasaying we must remember we, as a nation, have faced strife before. There’s the Civil War, its aftermath including the Lost Cause, Ku Klux Klan, and wobbly Reconstruction. We’ve wrestled with Women’s Suffrage, the Red Scare, the Depression, McCarthyism, and Civil Rights. Our nation has faced its many demons before and Meacham reassures us we can endure again.

We must make a choice.

Do we value our better angels (our children)? Or are we so fearful, so unimaginative, that we place fictitious security concerns before their needs? Simply put, to pursue the latter at their peril is immoral and is not in keeping with this nation’s ideals.

The brave among us prompt us to make a choice

Several people are making a choice and their leadership is stunning. Niraj Chokshi, in the New York Times reports that Steve Schmidt, a senior campaign strategist for John McCain’s bid for the presidency, has renounced the Republican Party. That’s not an easy stance for someone who has given so much to the GOP. His choice is based on his values. His courageous choice easily wins my admiration.

George Will, the conservative political commentator, is now advising the voting citizenry, via his column in the Washington Post, to make a choice: Vote Against the GOP This November! That advice must not have come easily for him. Mr. Will has a long and respected history of defending the conservative cause. This defense now bows to a realization that the Trump White House no longer represents the true Republican Party.

The political train must get back on its tracks. Each of us—all of us—must choose to make it so. As Eleanor Roosevelt advised, it takes the combined voice of the people.

Elections prompt us to make a choice

As you may be aware, I strongly believe that everyone’s voice must be heard and counted. All votes should count. And, as we elect a president, every state must matter. I keep pointing to Equal Voice Voting as the only viable mechanism that can make it so. I truly hope everyone reading this can reflect on the importance of everyone’s voting voice, regardless of political party, being counted in selecting our president. It’s the only way we can find our nation’s true political center. We must get the political train back on track.

Our future demands we make a choice

Still, we must make a choice. I’ve hinted at this throughout the blog. The choice I am pointing to is not just selecting a politician, or supporting a policy, or confirming our respective values.

The choice: We Must Choose to Participate!

That means paying attention and getting involved and talking with others and, finally, voting! Choose to participate!

Please, don’t deny the children. They matter more than do we.