Have you ever voted for a politician who checked off every box? I haven’t. I think if I ever found myself in a voting booth where I was in perfect sync with a candidate, I would question my own judgement. Now, I’ve cast ballots for folks I was pretty darn comfortable with but never once were there not a couple of areas where I found myself walking by faith. There have been a few times when I felt I was voting for the lesser of two evils but that has been rare. Usually, it is not difficult to find people who want the best for their communities, their country, our world. Even if I don’t agree with them, or even if I didn’t vote for them, I trusted our system of government.

I’ve voted since I was eighteen years old. I don’t know if there has ever been anything that has made me feel more patriotic, more American than voting…perhaps getting someone else to vote. I don’t even know if I felt more patriotic when I joined the military. It didn’t matter if I voted absentee because I was stationed overseas. It didn’t matter if I dropped my ballot in a box, voted early, or stood in a long line on voting day. It’s always that same feeling.

We live in a country with fifty states, and all have different challenges and strengths…different people, different cultures, different attitudes, and different beliefs. We have in common the Constitution that is the foundation of “this shining city on the hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere.”  A land where we are scrambling to control the entry of people fleeing from other nations whose freedoms have long been lost. Americans possess freedoms those in many nations can only dream of.

It is a land that has produced great minds, great inventions, architecture, medicines, cities and towns, art, people, but most importantly freedoms…freedoms some have decided must be rescinded. Some have decided a more perfect union was in the past…have decided the lessons of the past are better forgotten. America has always had forces who wanted to make it more like the nations of those who came seeking freedom were fleeing…more like places of the powerful and elite, and not the people. In America, we all have one vote.

Americans have never agreed on everything, perhaps not even what freedom is and certainly not what we are willing to sacrifice to keep those freedoms. But most of us have agreed on a few tenets, such as, democracy (democratic republic, if you prefer), laws, individual rights, courage, honesty, fair dealing, religious freedom, integrity, decency, civility, privacy, the American dream, striving for a more perfect union, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  Even if we have not abided by those things…most of believe they are to be strived for. They are the rules to live by most of us have taught our children. And, when it is all said in done, we cannot forget the “heroes” who have given their lives to pursue these ideals—in uniform, out of uniform, and legally.

We are fifty states, but one nation, with one President. For the last three years we have been in a state of havoc because we have everyday citizens, members of Congress, and others who have not been able to shake the last President. We have elected leaders saying this man was sent to us by God. We have an arm of Congress taking orders from a man who is not President…we have Speakers of the House being advised by the former President. Something is wrong here and we need to fix it.

The United States has survived bad Presidents. We have survived corrupt elected officials. And we have sent them packing…that is how we do it! But we have never had two Presidents…please don’t bring up Hayes and Tilden. The Constitution does not allow for two Presidents. Our government does not allow for two Presidents. Putin understands that. Ji Jinping understands that. In short, in their countries, Trump would already be under the prison or worse. Putin’s enemies are suffering from mysterious illnesses all over the place. Not only do our enemies understand this, but all our allies understand it as well.

Thank God, President Biden understands. He understands that what Trump is doing and has been doing since losing the election has been wrong. Most of us know it’s wrong. It doesn’t matter if you forgive Trump for the thousands who died from COVID due his ineptness. It doesn’t matter if you think the election was stolen…the court (61 of them) found no evidence to support this assertion. It doesn’t matter if your 401k was doing better during Trump. It doesn’t matter if he is responsible for overturning Roe…lots of folks are responsible for that. It doesn’t matter if you forgive him for his moral shortcomings. It doesn’t even matter if his indictments are unfair…I personally think he did all the things he’s been indicted for and that doesn’t matter either. What matters, is Trump is not the President of the United States and it’s time for Americans to fix it…and I just hope you don’t put our country through this disaster again.

Let me go back to “Thank God, President Biden understands” …he understands he is the President of the United States. He has tried to govern. I’m sure he has made mistakes…every President does. And, he had done some wonderful things…and if he hasn’t them, he’s tried. But that is another story. He has a House of Representatives blocking an immigration bill…and saying he’s the problem. He’s trying to put Americans back to work while also trying to fix the things that Trump broke as he went out of the door. He’s older, and as people get older, they age…but we don’t all age the same. For the first time in my lifetime, I know who the Vice President is…probably the first time in your life, too. Ya’ll know we didn’t know Pence, until January 6^th. Who was President Obama’s Vice-President…lol. Do you really think if inflation went up all over the world, it was going to skip us? Do you really think what Hunter Biden did was more criminal than what Jared and Ivanka did in the White House? Do you think lowering drug prices, helping workers with childcare, the infrastructure bill, or protecting our climate, managing our recovery from a mismanaged pandemic, and caring about our democracy are small things? If you do think these are small things or he’s too old, then vote for another person who loves our country, qualified to do the job, believes in democracy, and is fit to be President. But for now, let President Biden govern. Tell your elected officials to let the President govern…and while you are at it, tell them to govern, too. He has demonstrated a willingness to compromise.