A lot has been said about history this election season. Some
say we have historically bad choices. Some say we should make history by
electing the first woman president. Some say Utah should make history by being
the first state to give electoral college votes to an independent candidate.
A lot has also been said about fear. We should fear Donald
Trump because he is a loose cannon. We should fear Hillary Clinton because she
is deeply corrupt. We should fear Evan McMullin because he is a plant or a
traitor.
But with the election finally here, we have a choice. The
rhetoric has reached a fever pitch, but it all ends in the voting booth. We can
choose to vote based on the history we hope to make or based on fear of one
candidate or another or a third.
Or we can vote based on hope.
I choose hope. I don’t choose blind hope. I choose studied,
considered, deeply pondered hope. In the grand scheme, I believe historically
bad elections can become just that – history. We will survive this and continue
to move forward as a nation, even if not in the ways and directions all citizens
prefer. That’s actually how it works. One side will lose and be mad and demand
answers – and then we’ll move on. This election will become a line in a history
book. Hopefully it will be studied and understood and learned from. But it will
be history nonetheless.
In the immediate scheme, I believe whatever candidate each
one of us chooses should be based on our hopes and dreams for the future, not
on history and fear. I hope we each deeply reflect on which candidate gives us that
hope. For some, the fact that Hillary Clinton is a woman is all the hope they
need to cast a vote for her. For others, the fact that Donald Trump says
whatever he wants is all the hope they need to vote for him. For others, Evan
McMullin’s last-minute entry is as “American” as it gets and that’s all the
hope they need to vote for him.
Whatever gives you hope, I deeply pray that “hope” is your
motivation when you cast your ballot. Please don’t vote out of fear. Please don’t
vote just to make history. Please don’t vote to stick it to one side or
another. Please vote with hope.
For me, I find that hope in Evan McMullin. I am registered
independent, and I do believe his Hail Mary bid for president is about the most
patriotic thing a person could have done. I have studied and watched and
listened and considered my options, and for me, hope comes from a campaign
built on core American values I believe know no party lines and know no
partisan arguments. I am not a sheeple or a member of the mafia or a Mormon
sucker. I’m an educated voter and I will vote for Evan McMullin because he
gives me hope in the future of this nation.
And it’s o.k. that others will vote for someone else. I just
hope that in our hearts and souls we can say we voted not out of fear nor in
order to make history. I hope we can say we voted for hope in our future. As a nation, we are more good than we are bad, and we want what is best for America. And that is truly hopeful.
Whatever candidate brings hope to your heart, that’s who you
should vote for. And if we let hope rise above fear, then we will win.
