Election 2024

Election 2024

If you enjoy this blog, my apologies for not posting in the past couple of weeks.  I have had multiple things to say about the upcoming election, but could not formulate a cohesive message. As you will see, it’s still not cohesive, but if I don’t post now, I will just have to hold my peace.  I’ve been praying about this post, let’s see what the Lord wants me to say.

I grew up during a time when our voting decisions were private.  I would see political ads on TV and ask my parents if they were going to vote for that person, and they would tell me it was impolite to ask someone who they were voting for.  I’ve kept that idea and I don’t discuss my political beliefs, but I do discuss my faith and beliefs about Jesus.  The past few presidential elections have put starkly different candidates before us, their agendas seemingly opposites.  Pope Francis said, back in September, that voters would need to choose the lesser of two evils - but that’s not new!  In a system in which there are only 2 political parties and 2 candidates, don’t we always use our own judgment to choose the candidate who we believe will do the least harm and the most good?  I do! 

I recently had a conversation with a friend of many years.  We are both educators, we talk about students, their needs, their parents, societal issues, the direction in which cultural norms are moving.  We pray together, we discuss how the Lord is working in each of our lives, our families - we have a great deal in common!  When we were discussing the election, without disclosing our candidate of choice, and we touched and agreed, I thought we were choosing the same, unspoken candidate.  A couple of days later, I noticed a sticker on my friend’s car indicating we were choosing different candidates.  How can it be that we agree on so many things, but think different candidates will accomplish it?  

Abortion.  This is a major ballot issue for many people.  I’ve never had a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy or anything that would have put my life in danger during childbirth, unless we count the meconium situation I faced in 2004 that resulted in a C-section (and a healthy, normal son). While, I haven’t faced these issues, they are REAL for many women and happen everyday!  We must ensure that women’s health is a priority.  

I do not promote abortion, and if someone asked me to help them make a decision, (which has happened) I would always try to convince them to have the baby.  While that is true, women face this choice every single day.  When a woman is in a tough situation, they may truly, even tearfully, think the best thing to do is to abort.  I don’t think legislating against abortion is what needs to be done.  I think our country needs to be ready to help women who find themselves facing this decision with viable options.  We always advocate for giving the baby up for adoption, but how many people are ready and willing to adopt?  I’ve heard it costs upward of $20,000 to adopt a baby in this country?  Do we have a backlog of people waiting to adopt children?  We have women who choose to have their baby although they know they will struggle to provide.  Some of these women find themselves in need of public assistance and/or homeless shelters.   When shelters and nonprofit organizations who help those in need, ask for funds, lots of people act like they never heard the request.  What I think needs to be done about abortion is that we, as a nation, need to step up and become willing to partner with women who need help.  If you aren’t donating or volunteering at a shelter or nonprofit on a regular basis, you have no business voting to punish someone who felt they had no choice.  

Immigration.  I keep hearing, in political ads only, that people are crossing the border in droves and killing American citizens.  I do not have any personal, first-hand knowledge of this.  There is a commercial I’ve seen that shows the mugshots of six individuals who are in the US illegally, and have committed crimes.  The audio of the commercial tells about the thousands of illegals and the crimes they commit, and the video makes the same six photos jump as if they are changing to show different pictures, but they are not, they are the same six mugshots.  Having no personal knowledge of millions of illegals committing crimes, makes me question this as a real issue. I wonder if this is being magnified in order to push an agenda.  We talk about millions dying of Fentanyl poisoning.  I do have personal knowledge of someone who died this way, but only one person, not a list.  I am someone who is active in my community, I watch the news 3-4 times a week, and I should be aware of something that is happening in a big way, if it really is happening.  

Scripture says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  I have not found a Scripture that says God set boundaries for each kingdom or country.  I have not traveled widely, but I do have many friends from all over the world - Africa, the Philippines, Dominican Republic, India.  My friends are in the United States, namely Rock Hill, South Carolina because we rely on them to teach our children in our public schools.  They are magnificent human beings!  When they share about conditions in their home country, sometimes it brings me to tears.  They are sacrificing time with their own families to come teach our children, and hopefully to make a better life for their family to come to the USA, too, at some point.  Why are we recruiting teachers from other countries, anyway?  It’s a task, another task, our own citizens, have largely decided they do not want to do.  I know we must control our borders, I know that we do not have unlimited capacity, I know that we do not need any more drugs brought into our country, but we can’t group everyone who is not a native to the US into the category of being illegal and start trying to kick them out or put them in jail!  

Economics.  I was speaking with my 17 year-old son about the election and he said he didn’t see why everyone was so on edge.  He said, it doesn’t seem like anything really changes from one president to the next, so why does it matter?  I said, things do change from one leader to the next!  The reason you don’t notice it is because I act as a filter for you!  The example I gave was with CapriSuns.  When the price rose to ridiculous, I started buying a different brand, the store brand, but he and his brother always had a juice pouch in their lunchbox.  Unfortunately, income cannot keep up with the price of gas, housing, groceries, etc.  Since I am not an economist, I can’t explain how the President directly impacts prices/inflation.  It's a complicated formula, but there definitely is an impact. 

We keep asking if things were better 4 years-ago.  Hmmm, weren’t we in a pandemic 4 years-ago?  I would say things were not better.  Remember the toilet tissue shortage, the great face-mask debate, etc.!  And we were all cooped up in our homes, locked away from extended family, trying to figure out how to change our dining rooms into home offices, then as 2021 approached and the businesses that weren’t forced to close, were reopening.  We were not just ready to get out of our homes, we wanted to move out of them!  I say we, because our family moved in 2021, too!  The demand for houses exploded, causing prices to SOAR like never before.  Homes would be listed for less than 24-hours and there might be 30 offers!  And the offers were well above the asking price!  By late 2021, the Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates to calm down the housing market.  They raised rates multiple times and the housing market, indeed, slowed - but prices did not return to pandemic or pre-pandemic levels.  I have a 20 year-old son, who has a son of his own, who will be graduating from college next year.  I want him to be able to purchase a home for his family, soon!  I want my grandson to have a backyard with a swingset, soccer goals, etc.  If a 1200 square foot,  3 bedroom 2 bath home costs $350,000, how will they be able to afford it?  I’ve been a public educator for the past 26 years.  I have some savings, but nothing that will make their first home affordable.  Do I want a president who agrees that this is an issue - yes!  I don’t consider myself to be among the working poor, but even as a working, middle-class citizen, I’d like for someone in authority to see these as issues and work towards making it better.  I am a Realtor, too, I am passionate about homeownership!  I even wrote a book about it, but it must be affordable in order to be a real option.

I, along with millions of others, have already voted, but Tuesday is the big day for everyone else.  I am praying that we have a record turnout of voters in this election because we all have a great deal at stake.  Ultimately, and this is important, we must remember that God is in control.  He has not given any of His sovereignty away to the President of the United States or anyone else we elect.  We must pray for our leaders, that they allow the Lord to guide them in their dealings and decisions.  We are supposed to be the “United” States, it seems we are anything but united right now.  It is my prayer that our new President, be the one who can bring us together, we have been divided, and angry, and fearful of one another for too long. May God bless and unite the states once again!  Amen!   

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