Now is the Time to Vote!
The Future Depends on It.
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “future generations will ask what you did about it”. Well, future generations might not be bothered with this. They might ask a father or a mother what they did, but they won’t likely use a whole generation’s doings as an accusation. Unless this thing goes shitty.
I’m not a US resident. So, who you decide to vote for, will not have a direct impact on my life. However, it will mean that there will be consequences for me, my children and millions of others for the next four years.
I’m pretty sure a lot of you must be tired of politics by now. After all that has been happening, it’s quite understandable. Bad things happen to good people all over the world, yes. And the pain and suffering are real in every single case.
You are indeed a great nation, a multicultural people, and that is where your strength lies. You have stayed strong through adversities, wars, depression. You kept on going and fighting for a better future for yourselves and your children.
I remember quite vividly the day after your National Elections Day, four years ago. I couldn’t believe how a nation could vote for one candidate and end up having the opponent as their President… To me, a woman born and raised in Greece, the country that gave birth to democracy, this was unheard of, almost absurd. I couldn’t make sense of this senseless turn of events.
How could such a thing be? And don’t get me wrong, this has nothing to do with whoever was running for President, it’s the procedure that left me astonished.
So, I started reading on how the US election system works, which is quite fascinating actually. Five times so far, in your nation’s history, you have had a President who, despite being the winning candidate, he has lost the people’s vote.
By no means am I suggesting that this system is less democratic than a national direct popular vote — although I’m sure some might argue so? Nonetheless, I should say that democracy has only one rule: “one person, one vote”. Therefore, common sense would conclude that a presidential choice is one made by the voters, with a national majority, and based only on who can do the job best.
Who can make sure that, what you or your parents fought for, in hopes of a better tomorrow, wasn’t for nothing?
Last count, more than 220,000 people have lost their lives due to Covid-19. Millions of you are without a job or any health care. How many more people have trouble buying their groceries or paying their rent? These are no small issues, for any man, for any nation. But these are not the only issues you are called to think of when you vote.
What you decide on November 3, 2020, will not only have an immediate effect on your lives and the lives of your loved ones.
It will reflect on the rest of the world too.
“It requires clear-headed judgment, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a devotion to facts and history, a moral compass, and an ability to listen — and an abiding belief that each of the 330,000,000 lives in this country has meaning and worth.” Michelle Obama — 2020 Democratic National Convention
Does a 45-year-old person want the same things out of the next Presidency, as a 20-year-old? Perhaps not. Should they want the same things? This is open for discussion.
What we all should be looking for in our leadership, though, is respect, kindness, grace, care. This is what we all need from a system that exists to serve us.
This is the most important election. Make no mistake about it.
François Heisbourg, Senior Adviser at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, recently wrote in an article at Carnegie Europe :
“In 2020, the United States has adopted a much lower profile and is operating without a clear sense of direction. This applies both to the Greek-Turkish nexus and to the broader multifaceted crisis in the Eastern Mediterranean, which involves numerous local and external players.
What we are witnessing is a regional example of what happens in a multipolar world in the absence of firm U.S. leadership.”
You might think that Greece and Turkey are too far away from you, that a quarrel between them won’t affect you. But then again, that’s what you might have thought about Syria, or Egypt, or the Emirates, or Iraq. No place is too far away from you. Not when it’s all about energy and hydrocarbons.
Don’t wait for someone else to make a change. Get up and do it yourselves. Please, get out there and vote.
It feels that the world is in ruins. We are all fighting against an enemy we can’t see and, in many cases, we lose the battle. Our economies are struggling, many countries have to deal with domestic or foreign enemies. Do your part in November. Vote.
Aristotle, in his treatise “Rhetoric”, advises orators — the people who try to persuade their audience to do or not to do something. Although he clearly says that the motive should be to guide the audience into decisions that will benefit them, these tips are still used today as deception techniques.
Charming personalities can make us feel safe, but they can also be very dangerous. When the politician you support advertises his talents, and resents the practices of those who have hurt your interests, you should take a look at his life. What has he done so far? Which social groups did he support and how? Did he respect the law and his fellow human beings? If you do not like the answers you get, rest assured that he hasn’t had a sudden change of heart now that he asks for your vote.
We can tell the worthy and the unworthy not only from what they are doing but also from what they are thinking. — Democritus, 470–370 BC, Ancient Greek philosopher
The orator understands quite well what his audience considers as happiness and does his best to convince them that he will ensure this happiness.
Happiness, of course, is the goal of each of us. We just don’t all have the same opinion about what happiness is. There’s no doubt that all societies include economic prosperity in the conditions of happiness, but not all societies have the same opinion on how this is achieved.
Until the day you are called to vote, the orator will try to control and manage your anger, your fears, your hopes, your love for your family and much more.
So, please, don’t let any one person put you in this position.
Think hard. And then vote.
Do your best to choose the right candidate. Show up if you can, vote early. It may require more planning and a lot more patience this year, with all the different safety precautions. If it’s absolutely out of the question, ask for your mail-in ballots, and send them back as soon as you fill them out. Whichever way you go, please, make a well thought choice.
Vote, with the aim to have a well-functioning society.
Vote, with the rest of the world in mind.
We are all here, we are all waiting for your decision.
