Use Your Voice

It's a big week, America. One that involves many choices and a week where our social studies lessons from elementary and middle school come into play. When our forefathers arrived in this land, they wanted something that not many countries provided in Europe and Asia - the power of freedom. We have been given the ability to utilize our voice to elect political leaders who will change how we live on a day to day basis, right or wrong.

Now, I won't go all political on you. You have your views, and I have mine. I won't force you to align with my political affiliations, just like I hope you don't make me. The United States has a long and rich history of men and women who put forth their lives so that we can remain as a democracy. If we have forgotten, a democracy is a country in which the citizens elect leaders to represent their given territory and make decisions that are for the betterment of the group. Some decisions we agree with, others we don't. They are elected to represent the people and what they want. At the end of the day, we have to get along and respect the decisions of others.

There are some countries across this globe that absolutely want to ruin the United States. They want to take away our business, our rights, and ultimately, they want to be in charge. It's a selfish thing if you really think about it - it's all about power.

You also have power. You've been given the power to choose. As Henry Ford once stated: "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're probably right." We wake up in the morning and are immediately faced with two decisions: do you stay in bed or get out of bed? After that decision has been made, there is a whole host of other decisions that need to be made, such as what you want to wear for the day, how much coffee you want to drink, what route will you take to work, what you should eat for lunch and an assortment of others. If you're like me and love to sort cattle, sometimes, decisions have to be made in a timely fashion. While sorting cattle, moving one way or another can cause a group of cattle to go out the gate the right way or end up in the back of the pen where you don't want them.

Then, we're faced with even more complicated decisions (as if choosing what we were going to eat for lunch wasn't enough!) - much larger ones, in fact. Should I make a car payment today? Should I be changing my job? Is the major at my selected university the right choice for me? Do I want to work towards passing an English class?

We have many, many decisions. Large or small, we use the morals and values that have been instilled in us by our parents and mentors to answer the questions we are faced with each day. As we come upon Election Day, I want to challenge you to keep in mind that there have been many people before us who have made decisions that affect how we live in the world as we know it. The biggest one of all was the fact that our forefathers came to this country seeking freedom. Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom to assemble and petition the government. Men fought and died for those five freedoms and we so often forget, or don't even know, our history and the leaders who helped develop the United States and this great democracy. We forget there were many lives at stake to make sure that we could elect the leaders of this country. We forget our morals and values when it comes to making decisions. We get so caught up in what the other political party is scheming that we forget to recognize what our party is doing for the good of the cause.

Before marking your ballot tomorrow, please take a moment and think about where we came from and where you want the future of the United States to go. If you believe that aligns with the political leaders who are charging forward and have their names on the ballot, mark which one you think should lead this country. In that same sense, if you don't see something that is right, change it.

Bottom line: You have a voice. Use it.

Always remember to EAT BEEF.

Lauren