Every voice counts...

 “Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make a change.”Barbara Mikulski

 

Today is Election Day. Most of us can recall the many presidential elections we’ve experienced: for me, the first I clearly recall was Kennedy vs Nixon.  Every four years there have been momentous decisions at raucous conventions, serious barnstorming campaigns, tense debates, and nail-biting election nights. Every candidate stood for change, and just as many ultimately nurtured the status quo. Kennedy inspired us and Johnson was sidelined by the Vietnam War. Nixon vs Humphrey was the first election I was able to vote in, and the country was tearing itself apart. Since then it’s been Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2, Obama and now Trump, with a blur of Vice Presidents and challengers woven in. Every election day has been billed as a monumental referendum on something, but mostly, none of those boasts survived much beyond the swearing in ceremonies. Politics is clearly not the noble profession it once was – partisanship has destroyed the once lofty concept. So, it’s up to each of us to make a difference and together we can keep the incumbent or make a change. Whoever wins today, I’m certain, and impressed, that it will be a record number of voters – that, all by itself, bodes well for and speaks volumes about our democracy. Because America is not about the politicians; it’s about an ideal and a constitution. We the people can and will reaffirm that today.

 

Barbara Mikulski (born 1936): Politician and Social Worker