Today, after praying for a solution to heal the hatred, fear and distrust that is flailing about — and failing—this country, I experienced an amazing opportunity appear before me in the form of an undecided voter.  A middle aged woman  claimed she was on the fence publicly, and I was just a few feet away. When I got closer, I said without thought, “I heard you say you were undecided about voting. May I please ask you to consider voting for Hillary. She is a solid choice. I know she has issues, but I vastly prefer her issues to his.” I gestured to my 3 year old son, and mentioned I had a little daughter.  A woman nearby nodded.

The undecided voter, smiled at me and seemed willing to engage further. I really couldn’t delve into a thousand policy, character and historical points, and just burbled, “with all the love in my heart, please let your vote sway to Hillary.”

I realized after, how odd it was for me to talk about all the love in my heart… this is not a normal expression of mine. But that tells the tale to me.  With love in my heart, I asked for a vote for Hillary.  This is in contrast to voting for the Donald– usually takes place while inciting hatred and fear, and promises of “greatness” not defined, but closely linked with winning, warring, money and unpredictability.

We voted for “hope” instead of “war” in 2008. Many were angered, and felt that they got a raw deal.  The political obstinance, anger and alarming discourse that followed has amped up beyond 11, and now we face the spectacle of our country choosing the negative, by nearly selecting a candidate who courts those besought by awful emotions.  I think we are better than that.  I know we are.  We will vote “steady” over “anger” even though it is less exciting. We will vote “family” over “winning” too, because we are big enough to do so. When we look to do what we can with love, our voting choices become so, so simple.

#ImWithHer