Today's Thought - A Sacred Duty

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It is an unarguable historical fact: this nation's founders, although amazing in many ways, decided that only people like them (white dudes with property), had the right to vote for public officials. Unlike the fledgling states, however, you didn't have to be part of a religious group or take a test based on religion to hold office. That's the good part. The bad part is that most of the people living in America were not allowed to vote. It was left to the states. "Nay!" You say? Just go to the facts of history.

1 - The 13th Amendment (1865) abolished slavery (unless you were in prison). The 14th Amendment (1868) gave all people born here or who were naturalized citizens protection under the law.

2 - The 15th Amendment (1870) gave black men the right to vote - BUT - lots of laws, including poll taxes, literacy tests and grandfather clauses, were enacted in mostly Southern states, suppressing Black voting rights until 1965.

3 - The 19th Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote - BUT - most southern states made laws to limit women of color's rights.

4 - The Indian Citizen Act (1924) gave the people who were here first the right to vote - BUT - many states found ways to limit access.

5 - In 1943, the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) was repealed, giving citizens of Asian descent the right to vote.

6 - The 24th Amendment (1964) banned poll taxes, which limited poor people's ability to vote.

7 - The Voting Rights Act (1965) removed literacy tests, enforcing the 15th Amendment.

8 - The 26th Amendment (1971) lowered the voting age to 18, mostly in connection to so many men risking their life in Viet Nam.

9 - A law in 1975 (signed by Republican Gerald Ford) allowed non-English speaking citizens to get assistance in their language.

10 - In 1982, Republican President Ronald Reagan extended the Voting Rights Act for 25 years.

11 - In 1984, Pres. Reagan signed a law, making voting places accessible to the elderly and people in mobility issues.

12 - In 1993 we got the ability to register to vote at the DMV.

13 - In 2002, President GW Bush signed a law to improve and maintain voting machines, for accuracy's sake.?

14 - In 2013, we took a step backward when the US Supreme Court deemed the Voting Rights Act to be unconstitutional.

This history lesson is meant to remind us that voting was not made so that all of us could have rights. Those rights that came after the Constitution was written have been fought for by people yearning for equality and freedom. Voting isn't just a right - I think it is a sacred duty. As a person of faith, I vote for the rights of everyone, not just me and people like me. I vote so that minority groups get the same chances I do. I vote so that democracy wins, and the Constitution is preserved, protected, and defended from enemies from without and within.

To vote only for the benefit of oneself or race or gender is narcissism. It is not patriotic or faithful or moral or ethical. It is selfish. Do your sacred duty - vote so that all of us can be free.

Prayer - Holy God, thank You for this country and all who believe in democracy. May our freedoms be protected by all of us. Amen.

Today's image (thanks Linda Kozlowski for posting it) says it all.

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