Happy New Year & God Keep Our Democracy

So normally, this first post of the new year would be about goal setting. We’d talk about Smart Goals and how best to write them. We’d talk about eating healthy and losing weight. Hopefully, you’ll come back next Thursday for that post.

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However, I cannot in good faith, ignore what today is. The first anniversary of the attack on the Capitol, by people hoping to overturn the election. Where were you when the attack took place? Did you watch it on TV?

I had on the car radio when it began, and it only took moments for me to turn around and head for home. Who knew if this was limited to Washington DC? I live in Texas, a state that has people who want to succeed from the union!

The pictures on TV were frighteningly similar to the late 1960’s and early 70s. Many of you are too young to remember those days of division. But those divisions were over values—whether we should be in Viet Nam, whether women should have the same rights as men, whether blacks should be segregated—values and policy issues rather than a disagreement over facts. Today, we have way too many people in this country who don’t believe or acknowledge that Joe Biden is the President of the U.S. They don’t believe the virus is real, and they refuse to get vaccinated. Most of the people in the hospital are unvaccinated. That’s because they believed an untruth. The people who attacked the Capitol believed an untruth.

We can disagree about values and policies, but we can’t disagree about facts. If I finish up my evening meal with a large piece of cake at night, pushing me considerably over my 1250 calories, I can count on that cake showing up on the scale the next day. I may not like it, but that’s a fact. That happens.

Our republic was founded on the idea of majority rule and voting to make decisions and elect our leaders. If you don’t like how the election turned out, spend time figuring out how you can win next time. But state legislatures don’t get to put people in position who can throw out the result if it’s not what one party likes. That’s what’s happening in Texas and many other states. The process is being fixed so if the election doesn’t turn out the way the party in power wants, those appointed people can just toss out the ballots or electors and declare the winner they want.

That is not a democracy or a republic. That’s a dictatorship.

Guys, it terrifies me to realize how close we came to losing our republic in the 2020 election. A few strong people stood in the breech and didn’t cave to pressure. And that is why I’ve chosen to write this post, knowing full well that there will be people who don’t see this situation the way I do. Knowing some of those people may stop following this blog or buying my books.

I’m a privileged white woman. Because my parents made sure I got a good education, and I married a well-educated man, I live a privileged life. Because of that I feel more of an obligation to speak out when I see an injustice. My faith demands it of me. So I send money to candidates and causes I favor. I participate in studies at church about racial inequities. And I write letters and blog posts.

This country is not perfect, and we’ve done some terrible things—just think of our treatment of Native Americans, blacks, Hispanics, and women—but we’ve made some progress. This country’s dream and ideal is for everyone to be treated fairly and to have a chance. The American Dream still exists for anyone willing to work for it if the game is not stacked against them.

My platform is small, but I have one.

Please, please pay attention to what’s going on.

Don’t believe everything you read on Facebook.

Question everything, even this.

Watch a variety of news channels.

Treat people with respect, even when you disagree with them.

Don’t hate those who look different from you.

This country was built by immigrants. Unless you’re Native American, your ancestors at some point in the past immigrated to America. Or they were brought here.

And yes, please pray for our country that we can keep alive the American Dream. I certainly don’t have the the anawers, but I’m willing to work with you to find them.

Hope to hear from you.

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