(The following is what I shared with my co-workers today shortly after noon, Boston time, the day after we elected Trump to the presidency.)
To those of us who voted, hello there. This is for you.
I was born in a literal kingdom (…of Saudi Arabia) 8,000 miles away, onto soil that was… not home. I spent the first half of my life (17 years) there, surrounded by ex-patriots knowing one day we’d all… go home. One day, we’d go live in America, and do American things, like vote.
That’s why yesterday was special for me. I got to vote yesterday.
In the hope of connecting to others’ humanity ( [robot face] [winking face] ), and at the risk of sounding unprofessional, I’ll share my candidate didn’t win the presidency, and this has gotten me to think about what it means to vote. ( controversial hook / tension builds… )
Every four years, I am presented with an opportunity to make an act: to contribute towards empowering somebody to a position to make a difference: my president.
When my effort does not result in the outcome I want, I naturally ask myself where I can go from here. (lately in the form, “holy poop, now what”) Having a 15-month-old daughter has helped me get to this answer quicker, this time ‘round (lately in the form, “there’s poop, let’s change that diaper”):
Every damn day, I am presented with an opportunity to make an act: to contribute towards empowering somebody to a position to make a difference: myself.
Voting can mean you choosing what you do next. Every damn day. Every damn hour. Every damn minute. There is great power in this. This is what it means to be alive. ( motivational poster / tension releases…)
Look around: we live in a land where we can make choices both in the large (amongst presidential candidates yesterday) and in the small (between Dunkin’ or Starbucks coffees on the 9th floor today in Boston). It’s not like this everywhere in the world.
You don’t have to only
– vote every four years,
– against someone else’s vision of the future,
– influencing our nation and our relationships with the world around us.
You can
– vote every damn day,
– towards your own vision of the future,
– influencing yourself and your relationships with the people around you.
To those of you who read this far, thank you. And now back to our regularly scheduled Slacking.