DESTINY CALL TO ACTION :::

           :::   GO VOTE; STAYING HOME IS NOT AN OPTION 

                                            by Rev. Linda J. Ivey, MSW & Founder of YDH

This fall marks the opportunity for all of us to   exercise our privilege to elect officials who will protect our legal rights   to access government services, medical care, legal protections, and   protection from unequal treatment.

Some   Christians don’t vote because they believe God will provide everything they   need; this is true. Although, we as Christians believe God will provide, but   we still use and follow the laws of the land. We pay taxes, we go to the   hospital when we’re sick, we call the fire department if there’s a fire, and   we call the police when we’re being victimized. Yes, the bible speaks of God   expecting us to follow Him, but He also expects us to follow the laws and   rules of the land: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on   your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Jesus further encourages us to support the laws of the land, while still understanding that God has the ultimate power: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.” 

Voting hasn’t always been a right for all Americans: white women got the right to vote in 1920, it took another 45 years, (1965 Voting Rights Amendment), before African American men and women won the right to vote. The 1965 Voting Rights Amendment was the result of centuries of social protest and well-earned progress. Many of us take voting for granted, but before we earned the right to vote, we had to depend on the temperament and attitude of the various state’s leadership to treat us fairly, rather than viewing us as unworthy of equal treatment.

Nationally, our votes have created laws that allow us many privileges such as practicing our faith in our own churches. Our votes have created laws that allow us to live, shop, work, and relax in positive surroundings. And when treated unfairly, our votes have created laws that allow us to protest discrimination until we are treated fairly. 

While our vote can feel hollow in federal elections, it has a huge impact within our communities: low cost or free health clinics, streetlights, trash and snow removal, removal of abandoned cars, summer jobs and free or low-cost summer camps. Despite our current administration, our vote still allows us to create change and move mountains. Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that it will happen, it will be done for them.” 

Finally, "This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life….

As stated earlier – GO VOTE; STAYING HOME IS NOT AN OPTION!

...by Ashanti Raysor

                     :::   THE POWER OF YOUR VOTE  :::

There are moments in life when we underestimate the power of our own decisions. We convince ourselves that one choice cannot make a difference, that our voice is too small to matter, or that the world will continue moving whether we participate or not. Voting is one of those moments.

It can be easy to look at an election and think, What difference does my one vote really make? But democracy has never been built on the voice of one person alone. It is built through millions of individual decisions—people choosing whether to participate, whether to learn, and whether to believe that the future is working having a say in. Your vote affects more than you.

It can affect the schools in your community, the roads you travel, the taxes you pay, the courts you encounter, the services available to families, and the policies that shape everyday life. Decisions made at the local, state, and national levels can reach far beyond the ballot box and into our homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities. That is why being informed matters.

Voting should not simply be about choosing a familiar name, following someone else’s opinion, or voting the way you always have. It is an opportunity to learn, question, research, and understand how candidates, policies, and decisions may affect the things you value. To know better is to be better, and change happens with you.

We cannot ask for better communities while refusing to understand the issues affecting them. We cannot demand change while convincing ourselves that our participation does not matter. And we cannot expect future generations to inherit a better world if we are unwilling to take responsibility for the world we are helping create today.

One person learns. One person speaks. One person votes. One person encourages another to care. Then another joins. Eventually, what began as an individual decision becomes collective action. So before asking whether your vote can change the world, consider this: What kind of world are you helping create when you choose to use your voice—and what kind are you helping create when you choose not to?

Change does not always begin with a crowd. Sometimes, it begins with you.