Handling an Election Year
It’s an election year… that makes us all rejoice and cringe at the same time. The opportunity for change versus the opportunity to keep everything as-is; new versus old, conservative versus liberal, republican versus democrat, red versus blue, elephant versus donkey… the narrative is to pit people against each other. Choose your side and “fight to the death.” Make it all about gender, race, ethnicity, financial wealth, diversity, etc… anything that could separate the people, bring it up, show it off, shove it down the throats of anyone listening.
The reality is we need to get back to “We The People”. It’s “We the People” that need to be checking on the government; flexing our checks and balances, enforcing what we thought we were getting from different candidates.
At the end of the day we all need to be informed about our rights. If we don’t know what we have access to, permission for, limitations from then we can’t be fully walking in our freedoms.
I recently bought poster sized prints of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. In our house we will at least have easy access to what we are entitled to. Plus, I love this country.
There is not another country like it. There is not a country that looks at its people as problem solvers, intelligent decision makers, hard workers, free thinkers with unlimited possibilities whether you are man or woman, young or old, etc… We have so much that so many don’t.
I truly wish we would stop choosing to fight amongst each other. I wish we would stop choosing to let our differences divide us. I wish we would use the unifying truths the country was founded on to propel the values and morals that were established from the beginning.
The government recently has been planting little seeds of discontent in our minds and more recently they aren’t even small seeds, they are blatant ugly lies to divide and cause chaos to hide decisions that have been made without the people’s best interest in mind and cover up self serving moves that serve no one but the politician.
It can be overwhelming and a daunting task to say as an individual I’m not going to let this control my thoughts or actions and continue to live in freedom and love. How do we do it?
Here are 7 ways to stop letting the media and government scare you:
Get familiar with what our Constitution, Bill of Rights and what local laws actually say. Yes, there are some crazy ones, like it’s illegal to let your horse walk on the sidewalk, but there are lots of others that are not what we think they are. Know the difference between mandates and laws.
Get familiar with who is running for office in your local area and who is running for office on a national level and what they stand for. Look into their history. Are they flip-flopping for personal gain, have they realized they were wrong about an issue, do they hold the same moral compass you do.
Limit your time on social media and media in general. There is a lot of misinformation being passed around. It’s hard to know if we’re finding accurate information but double down on your research and it begins to become clear what’s true and what’s not.
Lean into your faith, your Bible, your community. Speak privately with your Pastor or trusted advisor and ask their opinion. In the end we know that God is King of Kings and his reign is supreme. He already knows.
Pray for your leadership in all areas. In one way or another whether it’s raising the next generation of people or passing the next round of legislation we are all contributing to the kind of country that we live in and want to live in. The time for silence has passed.
Vote. Sounds easy enough but I’m always shocked at the number of people who say they don’t or won’t vote. This is our opportunity to use our voice and choose who and what we want to see more or less of.
Spend your money wisely. Money does a lot of talking in the world right now. Know what you are buying and what the companies do with all that money they make. Very few large businesses are pouring all their assets into product research, production and distribution. A lot of them are finding ways to cut corners with different chemicals or shotty choices for ingredients. And LOTS of them are funding agendas that you may not necessarily agree with. Find who aligns with you and where it makes sense for you to make a change. Voting with your dollars is a great way to starve the opposition without having to lift a finger.
The United States and her people have a job to do. “We the People” need to come together. “We the People” need to have civil discord AND find compromise. “We the People” need to look to our foundation and see what aligns and what doesn’t. “We the People” need to work together to keep this country true to its inception; Truth, Freedom, Justice and a kindness like no other. We were not labeled the big brother of the world because we were out to destroy people. We are the caring yet fierce big brother that protects his people and stands up for what’s right.
If you feel like your voice is too small to make a difference I would encourage you to step out and be bold, use these 7 ideas. Your like minded humans will find you, rally with you and support you. We no longer have the privilege of being the silent majority. You will be shocked how loud one voice becomes when it unites with others like it.
