Winning and Losing

Here we sit the day after the Presidential and general elections in the United States.  Did you vote? Did your candidate win?

One of the best parts of this election is that it sparked interest back into the electoral process and voting booth; one of the worst parts is the divisiveness we are experiencing at the moment through the much too long election process.

Do you recall these historic dates? Do you recall the stories of the long fights to adjust the Constitution for inclusiveness?

• July 1, 1971 - 18-year-olds attain the right to vote
• August 18, 1920 -  woman gain the right to vote
• August 6, 1965  - African Americans gain the right to vote

If you didn't vote, why not?  Complaining without voicing your opinion is wrong.  It is a citizen's right and duty to exercise the right to vote. Why complain if you didn't take advantage of voting your conscience and back up your opinions on the public questions, bills, and candidates with a vote?

Freedom is never free and we must always be vigilant to maintain our rights and freedoms under the Constitution.  The founding fathers did an incredible job of putting checks and balances into our country's Constitutional structure.  It takes 3 branches of government to propel this country forward. We vote for members of the Senate, Congress, and the President which are 2 of the branches that represent us.   Our 3rd branch is the Supreme Court. Justices are not just appointed but also need scrupulous vetting in Congress for approval. If you don't like who's in power, then your vote needs to be counted by voting for the candidates that best align with the changes you want to see for our country's future.

The Electoral College is a compromise between Congress and the popular vote in order to buffer the difference in varying sizes of states' populations and ensure fair power to all states.  Many mistake the United States to be a strict democracy but it is in fact, a Constitutional republic instead.  It is not strictly the popular vote.  The power lies in our representatives we elect and not directly in the hands of every single individual.  This is why the popular vote is at times overridden by the Electoral College.  Notice too that in the Pledge of Allegiance for the United States states that we are a Republic.

We must to heal as a country now.  America is a strong and vital country.  We have always put aside differences after the vote has been counted and worked to unify once again under a peaceful change of leadership.  That's exactly what we need to do now.  Let's come together for the sake of every one of us from all religions, all ethnic backgrounds and do what is right for to keep the Republic strong.

Remember this one point:  We are all the same race, the human race.