By Ann Farabee
The Election – 2024
From generation to generation –
ELECTIONS continue.
This year seems a bit more – hmm – the only word I could think of was ELECTRIC.
Electric in that sentence means having a sense of thrilling excitement.
It may just be me, but I have fallen into the trap of recently watching and listening to channels that are talking politics. I hope one cannot get addicted to that. By the time you read this, however, it will be over and I can get back to normal.
I finally caved and decided to address my personal results of the election season in my column.
- I am talking to more people. We have so much to talk about. Even getting the mail out of my mailbox can stir up a political conversation with a neighbor.
2. Watching television is way more interesting. The commercials are fascinating.
3. I have actually spent time with friends who have not mentioned the election –
and also with friends who only want to talk about the election.
4. Yes, the beauty shop – I mean hair stylists and their clients have opinions, too. This is true most anywhere.
My 17 year old grandson is rather irked by the fact that he will be 3 days short of being able to vote this year, which puts his first presidential election vote four years away.
My 20 year old grandson made sure he voted early, which was a wise choice, since he is away at college.
We have not tried to sway them politically, but we are often products of what we surround ourselves by, right?
Voting is a great privilege, whether it is a presidential election year or not.
Just for you – my readers – I will reveal the presidential elections I have survived thus far:
When I was born, Republican Dwight Eisenhower was president and Richard Nixon was vice president. During the re-election campaign, Eisenhower made a concerted effort to win the female vote. It worked, as they were re-elected in the 1956 election.
Then came 1960. I was 6 years old and for the first time I became aware that we had a president. John F. Kennedy was the man my parents voted for and admired. My political life began to grow exponentially on November 22, 1963, when as a 9 year old, I cried on the playground at Woodrow Wilson School, as we all heard that our president – the leader of our country – had been assassinated.
From that point on in my life, I believe I was forever changed, as I gained a love for our great country, America, that I had not recognized previously, but began to nurture for the rest of my life.
Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden were also part of the history in which I have lived.
Whether the presidential candidate my parents voted for when I was a child won or not – we all survived. Whether the presidential candidates I have voted for won or not – I survived. I knew from a young age that the president is not the King.
Jesus is the King!
Jesus is the final authority!
Jesus is the King that will be with us forever!
In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said, “I am with you always even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
After I typed those words said by Jesus, I bowed my head, and through my tears I whispered, “Amen!”
