Voting: Our Most Precious Right and Privilege

Election Day 2016 is finally here. The candidates’ pitches have been made — and families, neighbors, and friends have discussed and debated the issues. Now comes the “right and a privilege” part.

Today, the exhausted truck driver stands in line to vote behind the waitress, who is behind the businessman, who is behind the stay-at-home mom. Seldom are the diverse parts of a town, a state and a country every together in one physical area like this — and with singular purpose — the way they are on Election Day.

We are responsible to, and for, our country.

How lucky we are to live in a nation where we choose our government. We, the people, choose who receives the privilege of serving our needs and our dearest hopes as our national leader. How blessed we have been by God if we are Americans.

In America, your fortunes can change. In America, if you work hard, you can build a decent future for your children and an honorable life for yourself. In America, you can attend the church of your choice, sing the hymns of your choice, worship God in the manner that nourishes your soul.

American patriot, statesman, and Founding Father Samuel Adams said of voting, “Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”

Related: What Young Americans Can Learn from This Election

We live in a blessed nation during a time of trouble. Terrorism threatens us. Society is changing — too fast and too far, for many. The middle class is struggling to remain the middle class, and not slip into “left behind.” Children grow up too fast, and technology has proven itself to be both a blessing and curse. We balance on the cusp of lasting change, and today’s final tally will push us one way or the other.

A book about the American flag published in 1977 by the House of Representatives reveals that “the star is a symbol of the heavens and the divine goal to which man has aspired from time immemorial; the stripe is symbolic of the rays of light emanating from the sun.” This is the flag that flies over us all. We honor it with the patriotic exercise of voting.

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We are singular yet joined today in 2016 in that enduring idea — formed with the goal of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all — that became a nation. We are responsible to, and for, our country.

Use your most precious possession. Go vote!