Election Day Rant

Monday Ministerial Musings

By Rev. Mark William Ennis

Blog Number 37

November 2, 2020

Election Day Rant

Tomorrow is election day and this is my annual blog rant about voting and elections. It bothers me that many people do not vote. Voting is one of the greatest rights that we have. Why don’t all of us take advantage of it? It took a long time for many people to gain this right to vote.

When our nation was first founded only white men who owned land. No matter what race one was, it had been required that one own land to vote. Now that this requirement is not necessary, would it not behoove non-landowners to celebrate this by voting?

It took a major war for black men to gain the right to vote. It is estimated that 618,000 men died in the Civil War in order to gain voting rights for black men. Later, to overcome discriminatory laws, it took a major civil rights movement with many victims of violence, including murders to get this right. It is sad that more black men don’t vote.

Women’s suffrage also took the work of thousands of marchers and demonstrators. They too were often victims of violence. Finally, it happened. Women  got the right to vote. Statistically women still are the majority of voters, yet not even close to all of them vote. After the violence and imprisonments that came to make women voting possible, don’t women disrespect these pioneering women by not voting?

Every election year I think of my friend Linda, an immigrant from Haiti. She told me of voting in her home country where one voted with a soldier pointing a gun to the voters head in order to make sure that the vote is cast for the “proper” candidate. She loves secret ballots and gets angry that more people in the United States don’t vote.

For the sake of all of the people who marched, were imprisoned, and were victims of violence, please vote. That is the best way that we can thank, and show respect for those who won for us the right to vote.

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#BergenCountyNJ                                                   #Voting

#Elections

To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order a copy of his book: https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/