Election Day in South Alabama
Election day in south Alabama. People voted to keep God first. Voted to keep things the way they are. Voted for change. Voted for the future. Voted to fix a broken system. Voted for the first time.
They voted in a civic center below a water tower that reads, "Silverhill A Good Place to Live," and across from St. Joan of Arc church that was open for prayer on voting day.
Elderly were pushed into the polls in wheelchairs and babies were pushed in strollers. The parking lots were as full as shopping malls on Christmas Eve. Volunteers stood on corners smiling, waving signs, helping voters out of cars or holding umbrellas to keep them dry. Some worked all twelve hours because they were "committed and crazy" or because they "couldn't stay home and watch it on TV."
Gigi voted in a red shirt, blue vest with white stars and a "Make America Great Again" baseball cap she had purchased at the Trump rally in Pensacola a few days before the election. She is a pastor's wife at a "non-denomination and interracial church" and the mother of three sons who served in the military. She predicted people would speak in this election like they did in 2016. They would vote for the "sanctity of human life, safety and security, and the blessing and prosperity of our nation with elected officials who openly speak of faith in God." She said the negative media has created a detrimental divide seen by people around the world.
"We have to find the common ground and quit focusing on the negative," she said. "Sara Sanders said it well, at some point, the leftists and liberals are going to have to decide do they love America more or do they hate the President more?"
Annie worked a table for the Eastern Shore Democrats handing out cookies and thanking voters. She pays close attention to the news so that she is always informed about what President Trump is doing. She thinks he is narcissistic, acting for himself without thinking of the country. But she doesn't like the feelings she has about the man elected to represent us.
"I am Catholic and I don't think I am going to heaven anymore. I can't help myself," she said. "Maybe Democrats will finally get a toehold in Alabama. Any time there is only one party in government, there is so much corruption and they can get away with it. Republicans or Democrats, they let everything slide. We need checks and balances. No party is all bad or all good, but some people think so."
Steve ran through the rain and jumped over puddles to vote, even if he thinks our form of government is "going down the drain." He said we have become self-destructive with no respect, love or God in our lives.
"We have lost our ability to care about someone else," he said. He includes himself.
"I am responsible for the things I do wrong, whether I accept it or not," he said. "You may be on every committee in your church, but don't speak to your neighbor or know him. Our leaders only care about themselves and no longer show us the direction we should go or lead us to a better way. If we love one another, we treat each other right.”
A desire for unity was the one thing voters black and white, Democrat and Republican, from Silverhill to Mobile, agreed on when they talked about this election. But how do we unify with so many beliefs and opinions? Or when each one of us thinks we have the right answers that everyone else needs to agree with. Unity means more than you agree with me and now we are both right. Unity is two sides coming together to form a whole. It is defined as a “condition of harmony” or “combining parts to have an undivided total effect.”
We are a country and state with many colors, cultures, and religions. But even with our complexities, there is common ground that we can find together, even if our government can't.
What if each of us gets involved with an issue that was important to us on election day? Instead of voting and then complaining or wishing someone would do something, we volunteer or donate to a cause we care about. Or get out of our comfort zones and meet someone who votes, thinks or prays differently? What if we see the world from someone else's point of view?
Chris was the last person I interviewed on election day. As he held up a sign that read, "Vote No to City Manager and Districts," we talked about how much easier it is to have a political discussion face-to-face than on social media. He said people started calling him names and saying things about him on Facebook that were untrue. He realized it was time to start acting like neighbors and get back some civility. Every morning he and his Danish wife go to Warehouse Bakery in Fairhope for a cup of coffee and a croissant and he invited people to meet him there and talk.
"A few people have taken me up on it," he said. "We don't often agree, but it has been nice to talk things through. Sometimes we have to back up and not get so wound up. We live in the same community and I hope tomorrow we will be friends again and can move forward. If it's not okay, in two years we can change it again. We have to survive this.
"Baskin Robbins has 70 flavors of ice cream and in America we only have two political choices -- you can't get two people in a room to agree on everything, much less a whole country," he said. "There is no way we fall into two parties. we are starting to realize our political system is broken and getting more and more frustrated. There is nothing we can do about it, so we scream at each other that it is your fault. We need a way to bridge the gap. I still believe in the goodness of human beings."
Yesterday, Visit Yazoo posted this quote from Zig Zigler who grew up in Yazoo City (my hometown): “In our country, you are free to choose but the choices you make today will determine what you will be, do and have in the tomorrows of your life."
Unity. Love one another. Find common ground. All of these can be the choices we make today so we can live them tomorrow.
Bridging the gap can be as easy as conversation, a croissant and a cup of coffee.
