I walked through the doors of the fellowship hall at the Baptist church in my small town at 5:57 a.m., ready to start the day.
I wasn’t alone; six others were also working my precinct, facing the drizzle, unloading boxes, putting up signs, and rearranging tables and chairs. Most of us knew each other, at least in passing. These were our people. My people. My town. The precinct where I’ve gone to vote since I turned 18.
Voters arrived early, prepared to fulfill their civic duty, making themselves at home in the fellowship hall, chatting with each other, waiting for the polls to officially open. This is small-town America, where people grow up and stick around, where everybody knows everybody, and where community is important and built on lifelong relationships with others.
And then, officially, it was time. The polls opened and the primaries were on, receiving a steady stream of people all day long who wanted to have their say in which candidates would battle it out in November.
I spent the entire day with ladies of a different generation than my own. And yet, as we talked and laughed and shared about our lives, the years between us dissipated and I found myself thoroughly enjoying their company.
We need more of such inter-generational relationships. We need more days of talking and enjoying each other. We need more young Americans learning from the older ones. If we had that, maybe America wouldn’t be in the state it’s in today, for we would have learned from the older generations, instead of learning things on our own the hard way.
What made it so important for people to get out in the rain, before the crack of dawn, to go cast their vote? I found myself musing on this as I ran licenses and handed over ballots, inwardly laughing over the offense some took as I asked them: “Would you like to vote Democratic or Republican today?”
There’s a myriad of possible answers. For me, it’s because I’m going to live in this society created by my vote, or lack thereof. If I’m not willing to do something, even as small a thing as marking a piece of paper and feeding it into a machine, then do I really have a right to complain about how our country’s morality is quickly fading? How can we manage to stop the ever-changing liberal agenda aimed at making people happy and allowing them to revel in their sin, if we don’t get involved?
Throughout the day, something became glaringly obvious: We need young Americans. We need a new generation to start taking initiative before the older generations are gone. We need to learn how to be involved from those who already are.
The poll worker’s class I attended was one of several the Probate office held for this election. In my class, I was the youngest one in attendance, and I’m not so very young. What’s prohibiting the younger generations of Americans from stepping up and becoming leaders in their societies and communities?
I’m very afraid that my generation has been indoctrinated by the school systems and the political rhetoric and everything else this world has thrown at them. I’m afraid they’re too busy arguing about their right to change their gender, kill their children, marry their dog, and just live life in their own way, apart from God.
How the mighty America has fallen.
But there is still hope. I feel it, I see it all around me. I saw it during the primaries. Not in the mainstream media, or in the well-known news anchors, mind you, but in everyday, small-town America. Small, rural towns like mine, where people know people and have a sense of community. Where you can easily talk to any elected official because your children grew up with them, or you grew up with them. Where you can vote without a secrecy folder because everybody already knows where you stand in the political realm. Where brownies are brought to the poll workers, and all day long people inquire, “Can I go get you anything?”
Let’s offer a clarion call to the upcoming generations to come out from among the masses and be different. To step up and step out, gleaning all we can from older generations who are already concerned about the future of politics in America, and are intent on changing them to represent the will of “We the People.”
Let’s step out in faith and see what God will do with us, the next generation of Americans.
Kaitlyn Smith is a homeschool graduate, intent on pursuing every opportunity the good Lord puts before her. She’s blessed to live a simple life with her family of 11 on their small southern homestead, living for the glory of God alone and finding beauty and joy in the mundane, simple tasks of life.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819News.com.
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