Needless to say, this Presidential race indeed has been going on forever, and there is a chance that literally most Americans are ready for it to be over. ;)
However, it's been a fascinating ride for me, which I think has helped me learn more about myself and how I want to live my life.
What I'm about to explain to you is a glimpse into a personal journey. Before I go into anything further, I'll tell you that I do have people dear to me who support certain Presidential candidates whom I simply do not, yet I think highly of these people anyway. They are wonderful. I've loved getting to know them over the years. I support a Presidential candidate whom I know for a fact is someone many of my close friends will for sure not be voting for. But wouldn't ya know it, we're all still good friends.
I felt something interesting stir in my heart while I was having a hot date the other night with a delicious bag of popcorn in the far-top-left corner-pocket seat in room #12 at the local cinema. My date was also with Mr. Tom Hanks. I spontaneously wanted to go see him play "Sully" in the new great Clint Eastwood film.
A decent chunk of the movie depicted scenes of the passengers of Flight 1549 experiencing a huge, very serious emergency together. These scenes were carried out magnificently by the actors. I could vividly picture how the group dynamics likely were on the real airplane, on the real January 15, 2009, on that real day in New York City.
I thought to myself, Any differences -- small or big -- that could ever cause any bad beef between any and all of these people, did not matter anymore. What it all boiled down to was that all these people were human. Each one of them had loved ones either at home, abroad, on that plane, or wherever. They each had somebody who loved them. They each had somebody to love. Each person mattered. Everyone was on the same level -- the same level of importance -- and in these moments of high-stress urgency on the Hudson River, I think everybody understood that about everybody else.
I'd like to translate what I learned from the "Sully" movie into how I treat people throughout my life. One of millions of scenarios: the election cycle. Election processes can get way heated, as we all are fully aware. Speaking of heat, I perceive there are a couple of different types of fires that can blaze during the course of an election cycle:
One -- heated debates between people. Two -- the fire that burns in a citizen's soul when they have been latched onto values that they believe are proper, and they stand up boldly for what they feel is right. And now as I am typing this out, I realize that the two types of fires very often combine one with another naturally. I just think that it's likely often wise to be cautious when standing up for our candidates, to not get carried off so far, that we find ourselves having damaged our relationships that we cherish. I personally have not witnessed many of my own associates' relationships significantly damaged, as far as my eye can tell, but I'm sure it happens all across this country.
So, back to standing up for what we each feel is right. Naturally and obviously -- simply because we are all different from one another -- not everyone's views are going to be identical. Great. That's totally fine. In fact, it's kind of beautiful. The diversity. I like it. Nay, I love it. We shouldn't be clones of each other. Being non-clones of each other, in my opinion, is what makes us all interesting to each other -- interesting to get to know. It's so cool.
But when we go hit the polls and come face-to-face with our ballots, I hope that this is the reason we go vote in the first place: "because I want to stand up for what I believe is right." It honestly might not be the current reality for millions of Americans -- that there is a great candidate on this season's ballot for everyone. Millions of Americans, I am sure, do not feel that way.
But I guess that is another reason why it's important for each of us to study up on who is actually running for Prez. Check to make sure there really isn't someone you could visualize yourself being happy to have as Prez.
I, for one, have found someone whose name will be on my state's ballot whom I am going to be thrilled to vote for. I'm not about to try to force any one of you to vote for the person I'm voting for. But I will tell you that I am going to be very pleased to fervently place a mark next to Evan McMullin's name. #McMullinFinn #ForTheWin
My plea is that, whatever you do, try to go to the polls with a positive purpose. I predict that many, many, many people are going to go to the polls with the sole purpose of "well, I guess it's just my civic duty." No one is making you go vote. You really do not have to. In fact, if you don't vote this year and don't make a peep about it, you'll probably very effortlessly slide by for the rest of your mortal existence utterly undetected regarding it.
I agree that one singular citizen's vote -- out of hundreds of millions -- is a tiny droplet in the massive ocean. In the grander scheme, it doesn't count as much. You are one of these droplets. I am one of these droplets. It would be easier than pie to go to the poll, check Yes next to a nationally-powerhouse candidate you'd rather not have win, and go home ho-hum, feeling like voting was actually quite a waste of your time. And so my question is, "If this is how you're going to vote, why are you going to go vote anyway?" I'm not really telling you to not vote. Please do vote. But try to see if there really is NOT any candidate you can see yourself voting for in "good conscience" (because that's the term that's popular with the kids these days ;)
If you haven't heard of Evan McMullin, then here is me telling you about him. If you have heard of Evan McMullin, but have not had much exposure to learning about him, and you do not care that much for either of the two most major candidates, please look into McMullin. Just please do. Just do.
(Here is one of my favorite recent interviews with him. It's kind of long, but I think it paints a decent pic of what he's like and what he wants for the United States of America.) (P.S. If you also don't care much for Glenn Beck, you can zone him out and zoom your focus in on Evan.)
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