It is Election Day, probably the most important vote in my lifetime. It is a vote for right vs. wrong, character vs. a lack of character, integrity vs. corruption, good vs. bad, love vs. hate, unity vs. division, the needs of the American people vs. one selfish man. Yesterday, I viewed two videos about Rev. Dietrich Bonhoeffer and how he stood up against Adolf Hitler in a time not much different than today.
Bonhoeffer’s beliefs and actions required a faith in God far beyond the faith of many Americans today. He willingly gave his life so that the people of Germany would survive and live on to build a democratic nation after the lies and hatred of a dictator. On this very important November 5th, Americans need to remember as we read the Bible that God is right there beside us, just like He is with us in the voting booth. Our nation was founded on Christian principles, and those very words are at stake today. Since the days of COVID-19, I feel that Americans have felt grief in such high proportions that our love has had no where to go. As Dolly Parton sang in “Christmas on the Square,” we need to pick ourselves up and move in a better direction. That is the importance of our vote today.
Bonhoeffer wrote that we need to ask what God’s will is for our nation. We need to re-examine what He wants us to do in and for the people of our nation. We must be open to new ideas and things but never lose sight of our roots, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. A tyrant may kill you, and that is the end of his influence on you. A martyr, in this case, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. lives on for future generations by his thoughts, words, and deeds. Many Americans have lost sight of who we are as a nation, what we proclaim as our values, and what we want to leave for our children’s inheritance.
I believe that through Jesus Christ’s peace, love, light, hope, and grace, all things are possible, even being a united nation. Our sacrifices are necessary; our integrity matters. “Some gave all; others gave some.” We need to stand up and be counted as Americans with our vote. We all need to show what is right and what is wrong. Only then will our consciences be wiped clean and allow us to proclaim, “We are One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all!”
Anna Hartt
