“We are always hungry for more.”
As I sit and write this week’s message, it is midterm election night in the USA. It’s usually not as busy at the polls during the midterms as it is on presidential election day, and it’s always noticeable. I always do my duty as a citizen and vote. One reason is to set a good example, and the other is that I feel like if I don’t, then I really have no right to complain about anything.
I will be honest, though, the last several years have mentally exhausted me when it comes to politics. The bickering, arguing, name-calling, division, and lack of professionalism and love for other humans have made me not believe in the people running the country at all levels, regardless of political party. This week, for the first time ever, I considered not voting.
I am not sure if I was actually serious about not voting, but it did cross my mind many times this last week. It was the first time I had felt this way. I tried to talk myself out of thinking this way and realized that the reason I felt this way was because I had lost faith in the system. It was not the voting system or even the political system that we have in this country that I lost faith in, but rather the people in the system.
Politics has become a thing to constantly argue about and a way to divide people for a long time now, and many of us are fatigued mentally. This mental fatigue had me thinking… what’s the point? It doesn’t matter anyway, I thought. They will just continue to divide us and make things worse.
I guess they turned the eternal optimist (me) into a pessimist when it comes to politics, and it made me sad. But then yesterday, something changed! I remembered all the people who fought to give us the right to vote and have a free election. I also remembered that my parents immigrated to the USA from Italy and how my immigrant mother became a USA citizen and was so proud of her ability to vote.
It was always something my mother appreciated and talked about, and ultimately, that was what inspired me to come to my senses and vote today. As I arrived at the poll location, based on previous midterm elections, I did not expect to be there more than 15 minutes. But wow, was I surprised. I waited 35 minutes just to get a ballot, and I was there for almost an hour.
By the time I left, there were even more people, and I was shocked by how many people kept lining up. It really hit me when I thought to myself that many of those people had probably considered not voting either, but they ultimately showed up, just like me. It made me realize that even though we are divided sometimes in this country, we are still the same when it comes to our resolve to try again.
I didn’t just see lots of people lined up to vote today. I saw people who were hungry for more. Their candidate might not win, and they might spend lots of time voting, but they were still hungry for the process, and so was I.
I left there with restored hope today, not so much about the political climate as the will of the American people. We might not all have the same opinions, but we do have the same desire, and that is to do our part and vote.
For one day at least, we were unified in a decision we all made: We decided to vote and be part of the process. That personally gave me hope that one day we can be unified in other things as well. Today the American people reminded me that we are always hungry for more, just like the TLC people show me everyday. I guess we are rubbing off on them!
I want to thank anyone who voted today and wish you luck for your favorite candidate. Find happiness knowing that we all won today because nobody gave up, and that itself is a victory.
Thank you for reading and please have an amazing week! God bless you.
