Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Exercising Our Right to Vote

I was talking with someone the other day about the upcoming election and he reminded me that I needed to apply for an absentee ballot.  My first thought was "No, I don't think I need to do that - election day is always the second Tuesday in November, isn't it?"  This fellow wouldn't be distracted for me - "No." he said, "it's the first Tuesday in November and remember, you are having your knee replacement on the first Monday, so you will need to get an absentee ballot in order to vote."

He was right.  Thus, for the first time in my life, I voted with an absentee ballot.  My vote has been cast!  My candidate choices are in the book of life.  I believe that this system of selecting our nation's leaders is such an important one for all Americans to participate in.  Designed as a Constitutional Right for all people to select their choices to best lead the nation and local government, some voices were silenced in our national history (women, people of color, etc.).  Today, all people are able to vote and should take that precious moment to exercise their right to be heard.

But how does the Christian select the right candidate?  That's a great question.  Next Monday, October 22 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., a program presented by the Minnesota Family Council will try to provide some answers to that question.  It isn't a forum to select any specific candidate, but more of an opportunity for the Christian to shape their choices more easily with their beliefs.  The program is called "Citizenship Worthy of the Gospel" and will be held at Solid Rock church in Worthington, MN.  If you are interested in attending, you can go to this site and register (at no cost).   

I readily support programs like this (when they do not espouse a particular candidate) because they can help to clarify issues that aren't so easily clarified.  Just a reminder: I am not recommending any candidate, party or affiliation - this is only an invitation to hear someone talk about how you might shape your own selection process, without going into any specific details on the values or platforms of any one candidate or party.  

Voting carries that responsibility - to know who we are voting for and why.  

Don't be absent from the process - plan to exercise your right to vote on November 6th.

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