The Fierce Urgency of Now is to Vote in November
By Dr. James B. Ewers, Jr., Columnist
Our country’s Pledge of Allegiance ends with, “One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Now, more than ever, we have the fierce urgency to live it by voting in the coming weeks.
We have had times in life where choices that we made determined the outcome. All of us can name enough occasions where our direct actions had an impact.
America has come to another watershed moment in its history. The month of November looms large. Yes, we will celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends; and of course, Black Friday sales will be running non-stop in stores and online.
While important and time-honored, nothing will be more important than us voting in November. This moment must not find us lacking or making excuses.
Derrick Johnson, the president of the NAACP said, “We have racism emanating from the White House.” We know this to be true but will that compel and propel Americans to vote? For example, Mr. Johnson wants Black voter turnout to increase five percent over 2016.
It is a well-documented fact that African Americans had a low voter turnout in the last election. Did we not vote for Hillary Clinton because we thought she did not need our votes? I believe that was the case for some of us.
Everyone must vote! For example, 61% of naturalized citizens live in just five states. Those states are California, New York, Florida, Texas, and New Jersey.
It is the thinking of many pundits that Florida is a battleground state. If you are an immigrant coming to America, you have a birds-eye view of what is happening here. You may have a loved one or friend who has been caught up in immigration mania. This is all the doing of Mr. T, the president of the United States of America.
Another group that will have a defining role in this year’s election will be independent voters. Jeffrey Jones, Gallup Poll’s senior editor says, “There are the people who don’t change their votes, no matter what, but the country is not as polarized as people think. Independents make up the largest group of Americans, and these people are people who can be more easily swayed. They are open to persuasion.”
This block of voters will carry weight. A closer review of independent voters shows that 35 percent of Americans under the age of 30 say they are independent according to the Spring 2020 Harvard Youth Study. Ellen Moorhouse, the deputy director of a political action group said, “Personally, I have never really felt either major party represented my interest.”
The prognosticators and fortune tellers have a prediction on who will win the 2020 presidential election. They have convinced some of us already about who will win.
What I know is that we must vote in November. Another four years of what we already have is unacceptable. Our standing in the world community is a mess. The nation’s economy is a hot mess. Race relations in America are at their lowest point. We are being laughed at by the world. We can not find a job and we are afraid to leave our homes.
America, turn off the snooze button and sound the alarm. The upheaval that we find ourselves in these days is because of the current administration.
There are enough Americans who voted in the dark the last time and now will vote for the Biden-Harris ticket. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the way our world is made.”
So, can we depend upon each other to vote on November 3? Yes, we can!
