P24 I Voted

My sticker on my voting ballot ready to peal and wear

Daily Note

Every day, a photograph, a poem. It’s the presidential primary today. I voted. Our ballot box is on the route of our daily walk. We were delighted to see the “I Voted” sticker provided with our mail-in ballot, which we can also deposit into the ballot box. I voted. I have voted in every election since moving to Coulee Dam 36 years ago, and I’m pretty sure almost every election since I turned 21 so many years ago.

I voted because I believe in America and it’s dream that we are all equal and free to choose our own beliefs without being forced to follow laws following someone else’s religion. I voted to have voice. That’s what America is all about. And, unless we vote blue, we won’t have that voice any more.

That voice by vote is already under attack. The Brennan Center for Justice NYU School of Law is all about building “an America that is democratic, free, and just– for all.” The Center was founded in 1995 by former law clerks to Justice William J. Brennan Jr. The Brennan Center is “living memorial to his ideals: a commitment to a fair and inclusive democracy, support for the disadvantaged, and respect for individual rights and liberties. Above all, Brennan saw the value of “human dignity” as the core of the law.” [Brennan Center / history]

And in today’s anti-American, anti-democracy climate, we need the Brennan Center’s work. They have been keeping tabs on the eroding of our right to vote:

No matter your political view, your right to vote is under attack. Vote blue to protect everyone’s right to vote.

Besides the issue of voting rights, I’m also concerned about other issues, for which the American Civil Liberties Union is fighting for:

Religious Liberty — free to one’s own beliefs
Women’s Rights — equal rights
Reproductive Freedom — freedom to plan one’s family
Civil Liberties — for all of us
Immigrant Rights — protection of due process

Every one of those is under attack by right wing fanatics whose entire talking points are all about making everyone afraid. But if you go out into your neighborhood, talk to your neighbors, you’ll find that we don’t live in that fear, except maybe for a gunman to attack our school children. When you read the rhetoric, you know it’s the red hats that promote these anti-democratic positions.

And if they get in power, your Freedom of Speech will be taken too, when the dictator takes his power. I just read “The Wrap” for today, and it pretty much sums up the idea that these people are not patriots for the rights we have in the Constitution.

And we must vote them out. I did my part today. Whatever you want for America, vote in November. I vote for freedom and democracy.

Poetry

I Voted

I voted
I voted so my voice is heard
I voted so my grandchildren’s freedom
will not be deterred
I voted for democracy
not autocracy
I voted for America
for Americans
no matter who they are
because they all matter
we all matter
we are all created equal too
we are all free
to our own beliefs so
I voted blue.
Sheri Edwards
03.12.24 072.365.24
Poetry/Photography