Did you know that women were not allowed to vote in the United States until just 100 years ago? The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was certified on August 18, 1920, and just 9 weeks later, on November 2, more than 8 million women across the U.S. voted in elections for the first time. (Source: History.com).
I voted yesterday.
Big deal, right? Well, I’m ashamed to admit it but I rarely take the opportunity to vote. I think the last time I voted was during the 2016 Presidential election. And before that, it was probably the 2012 Presidential election. Yesterday, I didn’t remember that it was the Pennsylvania “Primary” until my 22-year-old daughter reminded me as I was making dinner. Thankfully, I made it to polls shortly before they closed, with my face mask and driver’s license in hand.
I decided to vote yesterday because it is something concrete that I can do to begin to affect change. It feels like our country is falling apart around us. Americans are crying out for serious change, positive change, hopeful change, inclusive change.
I do not like politics. I never have. I avoid politically-charged topics and I dread ‘campaign time’ when our lives become infested with yard signs, billboards, ads, and commercials that are generally NOT kind, positive, or helpful. But I am paying attention now because I have to.
If you’ve turned on the TV or looked at social media this past week, you already know that Americans are outraged, appalled, and protesting for the rights of black Americans. I have never seen anything like this in my whole life. It’s pretty clear that racism and oppression still exist in America. Like many other white Americans, I wholeheartedly admit that I don’t understand what it’s like to be black in America but I do commit to listen, learn, and change.
Yesterday, I exercised my right to vote. Today, I learned that this is a right that I should never again take for granted. It took almost a whole century of lobby, picketing, marching, protesting, and fighting for women to have this basic right. I’m taking this opportunity to encourage every American woman over the age of 18 to exercise their hard-earned right to vote in the coming months. We have a very important election coming up this year, exactly 100 years after the 19th Amendment passed, and your vote is needed if our country is going to change for the better. Remember that women make up slightly more than 50% of the US population now. Together, we can make meaningful change for us, our children, our grandchildren. etc. We can alter the course of American history just as these brave women did for us. These photos, and others, can be found on History.com.
Until next time, keep looking for the goodness around you, and be the change you wish to see in the world (Gandi).
With deep gratitude –
Denise
I love this. I share many of the sentiments especially as it relates to politics and the power of votes. I was planning on writing something similar, but can not say it better than you did. Great job!
Great post. Thank you for sharing some history, so we remember not to take for granted things that our previous generations had to fight for
Hey there,
I like the core meaning of your post! I do live in the US, but I can’t vote here because I’m not a citizen. However, I am the change I wanna see in the world. I am vegan, have been for a few years now, and am happy with and proud of it. And of course, I am open-minded to people, as we all should be.
Keep it up!
Anne