Election Day 2008

"Yes We Can!"
Cesar Chavez and borrowed by Barack Obama in his acceptance speech
Yes WE can!
I love our country and our democracy. I love the freedom that we all have to express ourselves and be apart of that democratic process that says the real power is in the people. Whether we are for prop 8 or not, we all, every American, have the right and privilege to express our belief and to freely and lawfully fight for our cause. I am grateful to be an American and to know that I am protected by a government that has checks and balances that protect the people. I am grateful that the law protects those same people who have opposing view points to mine. I feel especially grateful to have been able to be a part of the yes on 8 campaign, to have participated in our democracy on a very personal level. To have joined with all churches in the community to work together for our cause and our belief. I am grateful for the many discussions that I have had with loved ones regarding the varying view points on the issue. It solidified my belief and made more firm my stance that although I do not judge another's behavior or their choices, I cannot condone it by voting in favor of same sex marriage.

I think that the Prop 8 experience was wonderful on many levels. First of all there were many discussion about choices:

"Why would a woman want to marry a woman?" with some giggling,

"People have a right to choose their partners for themselves, we may disagree, but we don't judge them for their choices. We know that Heavenly Father said that marriage should be between a man and a woman. So we are voting yes on Prop 8."

"But that is weird for a man to marry a man or a woman to marry a woman."

"Jesus wants us to love all men and women even if we don't agree or understand their choices. Even though they make different choices than us, it does not make them bad people."

These were very important discussion for me to have with my children and I am grateful for the opportunity to teach them. I don't want my children to judge or feel they are superior to another because of differing beliefs or actions, but I do want them to know what the standard is for them to follow and that although Heavenly Father does love all His children, He has laws that are irrevocable.

My children volunteered their time with me on Saturdays and on evenings. When waving signs, I reminded them that they were following the prophet, who asked us to volunteer our time for the effort. Too, I was able to teach them about tolerance and acceptance of another's view point. Some people obviously disagreed with us and communicated their feelings in an assortment of ways. I instructed the girls that the opposition has their right to express themselves but that we will just smile and continue to wave. We will choose not to engage back in a negative way. It was a lesson for them about appropriate behavior, now can we do it in our own home?:)

When going out on Saturdays early, Mitch the Kid was always a bit, how shall I say it, grouchy? (yes that about sums it up!) But his attitude always changed while participating in the activity. Last Saturday, he was especially grouchy and even asked, "how can you live with yourself?" for asking him to get out of bed because he was so tired. I felt fine about it. He had made a commitment before and he needed to fulfill it. Mitchell, Lily and I went around houses and hung voting reminders on the doors in our ward boundaries. I had Mitchell drive and Lily and I ran to the doors. After a short time Mitchell apologized for his attitude and even said that it was fun and a good activity to do together. (I think he was catching on!) A little while later he wanted to hang some of the fliers on the doors. We finished in about 45 min. We were all feeling pretty good and Mitchell said, "I am glad I came. It feels good to be apart of something bigger than yourself." (He Got It!). I am so glad that I gently reminded him every 5 min when we were leaving, right up to five minutes before we left.

All in All, it was worth my time and energy. I feel proud to have been apart of the movement and make a stand. I feel grateful for the lessons it taught my children. And just like Mitchell says, it feels good to be a part of something bigger than myself.

I love our country! I love its citizens. We need to band together and build on our great nations heritage of freedom, hope, courage to fight for the common good. Barack Obama stated yesterday, "The Strength of our Nation is not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals of democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope." I love that. I feel great hope. We are a great people and a great nation!

Yes We Can!

As a post script to the above essay, I may not agree with the way the opposition behaves, I may not like the way they protest, or their tactics, however, as long as they do it lawfully they can protest, that is what makes our country great. However, we should not let their choices affect ours. Like my friend Allison counseled her son, " don't get down with the turkeys, fly with the eagles!"