Vote, y'all.
A treasured friend in these United States texted me today to ask about voting. The possibility of not voting in order to not be complicit in a horrible thing was voiced. The term “empire” was mentioned. I find myself dropping that word a lot lately.
Here’s how I define empire: militant denial.
I see militant denial operating lots of places and among lots of people and across lots of contexts. I sometimes see it at work in my own life. Empire’s gonna empire.
When it comes to my governments (local, state, federal, global), I spy empire. But empire isn’t all I see in the behavior of the elected officials over whom I have a kind of legal custody. I sometimes see care and due diligence too.
I have the power to make my governments less imperial by placing (or trying to place) particular people in particular seats. I’m not here to tell anyone what to do, but I seek God and justice and love by voting. Voting is one form of neighborliness among many. I vote and love strategically.
And when it comes to the form of empire called the federal government of the United States of America, I have a particular power to exercise in view of my fellow eight billion people, most of whom don’t have a say in this particular arrangement. I get to challenge what’s wrong with it and celebrate what’s right with it as a citizen stakeholder. I have a part to play. I get to think and act prophetically and poetically in my context. I believe this is the work.
We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s business. We are each other’s
magnitude and bond. Gwendolyn Brooks said that. I believe it.
Do you believe it?
Vote, y’all.
I once held the view your friend was maybe flirting with, that it is better to abstain from elections so as to avoid complicity in evil and horror. Here’s the thing I eventually realized: I’m complicit whether I vote or not. I’m complicit in how I spend my money. I’m complicit in the privileges I receive from broken and sinful systems. I’m complicit when I don’t vote because then I’m not utilizing every mechanism to try for change. So now I vote in every possible election, primary and general, as a means of standing with my neighbors to create a more kind, soft-hearted, human-centered community for all of us.
Ciao from Milan, where I assure you many, many Italians care deeply about how the U.S. election goes. Vote! (And yes, I’m absolutely voting from overseas. Nothing could stop me.)