A Milestone Election: Voting for My Mom and My Future
I have been encouraged to fulfill my civic duty in an age that often neglects civility. As a new voter, I have elected to cast my ballot this fall because I could never justify inaction in the face of seeming backwards momentum in ideas, values, and policy. I’m also excited and thankful that in my first election, my mom, Brandy Reese, is running for a seat in the Arizona legislature and I’m able to cast my vote for her.
The regressive instincts of many in the electorate threatens our privacy, undermines our medical decisions, fails to protect voiceless children, disrespects their teachers, and under-supports exhausted moms and dads. Casting my ballot is more than the fulfillment of a civic duty; it is my own claw marks grasping onto every right I fear could be taken away from me.
I expected more from the adults that surrounded me in 2016. I expected more from the newly elected president. Now, I hope that the next generation of voters do not look back at 2024 and say that they expected more of me too.
As a first time voter, I recognize the opportunity that far too many Americans fail to seize. Our livelihoods, rights, security, and the state of the environment are on the line and on the ballot this election.
I believe in those who have risen to the challenge; those who, like my mom, understand that the outcome of this election has far reaching consequences that extend beyond even her children. I am the young woman that I am because of my mother’s insistence on kindness and knowledge above all other values.
The American spirit seems ill defined in words, yet is best exemplified by the citizens who fight for more than their own personal interests. I am proud and inspired by the fact that I am able to engage in my civic duty and support my mother, because the women before me, and the woman who raised me, didn’t accept oppression with passive civility.