Guardians of our democracy
By: Melina Farahmand
Founder & Owner of Past Present Future Co.
Author — From Dust to Breath: Finding Our Place in the Circle of Life
Available on Amazon.
"It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy. To embrace the joyous task we've been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours."
— President Barack Obama
The most important office in a democracy is not that of a congressperson, senator, or President; it is that of a citizen. It's not about those in power. It's about the ordinary, everyday, hard-working Americans who get to decide what they want out of their country.
When citizens neglect to exercise their inalienable rights, they not only fail themselves and their neighbors; they are failing their children's future. They are failing those who died in the name of this country, and for us to have the freedoms we boast about so often. Choosing not to exercise your right to vote is disappointing. You aren't always going to have a candidate that you love, but it's not about that by any means. It's about finding the candidate who shares the most similar values to you. It will never be perfect, but it's about choosing the one closest to you.
Leadership is about empathy, kindness, respect, honesty, compassion, intelligence, and the ability to unite, not divide. Choose your leaders wisely and with great care in mind. They have the power to either tear apart or mend, destroy a nation, or preserve it. Vote like your life depends on it, like your neighbor's life depends on it, because it does.
A democracy dies when its citizens fail to exercise their rights. Don't let this democracy die; fight for it with every fiber of your being. In the words of a remarkable leader, it falls to each of us to be those guardians of our democracy.
