The day has arrived–election day 2016. I devoted yesterday’s post to reminding as that as leaders we must often make the least bad choice, and commented on the two major candidates for president. I won’t rehash that here. My goal is short and simple today: to urge those who are registered to vote to VOTE!
The freedom to vote for our government officials is a great freedom, that men and women have defended for well over 200 hears. It was not purchased lightly, nor maintained without great cost. That means out of respect for those who have given us and continue give us this and many other freedoms, if for no other reason, we need to vote.
While so many have told me their vote doesn’t matter, that one person can’t make a difference, I would contend that one person has always made the difference. This blog is devoted to leadership, because history tells us that the most unlikely people can become leaders, and in their roles as leaders one person has always made a difference. We can go back several thousand years to a time when Israel was a fledgling nation, struggling under the political leadership of their first king, a man named Saul. While the Israelites didn’t have a right to vote the king out of office, or to select a new one from a field of candidates, the could and did offer their backing to God’s new choice: David.
David was a shepherd. On the surface, he didn’t look kingly. In fact, when the prophet Samuel came to anoint a new king from the family of Jesse, he had Jesse line up his sons in a row, and Samuel went through a handful whose appearance seemed more fitting than David. Jesse hadn’t even invited David to the lineup, because he seemed such an unlikely candidate. Yet God chose him. It must have been much easier to have God choose the king, than the process we use, and yet, whomever is chosen as leader in any era, that person must lead, that person must grow and develop or be looked at in the rearview mirror as an unworthy candidate.
David was a great king. He had many flaws as all of us do, but the people loved and followed him. Throughout the pages of history we see individuals who rose up from the back woods, from slavery, from oppression, from humble circumstances and became great leaders. That’s because each of us has a certain capacity for leading, but some recognize their role and take advantage of timing and step forward into leadership. The people must then rally around the leader, or determine he or she is not a leader.
What does that have to do with our voting today? Everything. We may not like many or any of the candidates, but they are what we have from whom to select. If we really believe “someone” needs to do something, then perhaps that’s a call to become more involved in the political process and perhaps to run for office. After all, any of us who are leaders know it was a dissatisfaction with something that moved us to step forward and doing something in our area of leadership. What we can do today is vote. What we do tomorrow is our responsibility to discern and act.
Please, exercise your right and privilege to vote today!