Notes from my Knapsack 11-14/21-24

Notes from my Knapsack 11-14/21-24
Jeff Gill

In the light of Election Day
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Election morning the village turnout, at least in terms of "as the door opens" at 6:30 am, was impressive. Possibly the most I've ever seen for the dawn patrol here in Granville.

There was a man in his running outfit, shorts & sneakers; I saw women & men dressed for business or court or something official this morning, in ties or dresses and dark fabrics. I saw neighbors and fellow churchgoers and former clients; there were fellow Kiwanians across the table checking in voters & college students plus professors from up the hill down here in the church basement. There were a few in patriotic gear, but of course nothing overtly partisan. I saw people I've known for over two decades here in the village, folks I've more recently met whose names I scrambled mentally to recall, and a fair number of complete strangers.

It was Election Day in the United States of America. The genius of our founders is encapsulated in the propositions that we are all created equal, and therefore our votes count equally. All of us, at least those who make the effort both to get registered, and to cast their vote.

For democracy to function, it requires a critical mass of voters to participate, and register the outcomes as "the consent of the governed." If we only had a handful of us voting, the system would flounder if there's not enough of us participating to sustain the hard work of governance, which boils down to the levying of taxes and the expenditure of public funds. Those two issues are contentious enough, but we make it work because of the deposit of good faith made by enough of us having voted; it works enough to leave the citizenry in general feeling like the actions of our commonwealth are by common consent.

There are those who vote whose engagement and understanding I wonder about. And there are reasons expressed for making certain choices that leave me baffled as to why their perspective is even relevant. I won't lie: some ideas strike me as ignorant and uninformed. Yet the essence of democracy is that they get to vote, too, if they meet certain minimum criteria. The various pluralities, for elected officials and financial assessments and governance revisions to charters locally or constitutions on the state level, will decide. Majority rules.

Whichever top ticket candidate prevails, I have work to do locally not because my preferred candidate won or lost, but more likely to make the best use of the outcomes of other ballot matters which are not even on the local TV news let alone cable coverage. Certain things village residents are voting on will affect me quite personally, and county-wide the results of things like library levies and senior funding will be matters with impacts I will see, up close and personal.

So I pray for blessing on all those I see going about their civic business this day, in sporting togs or blue suits, with obvious partisan commitments or those whose actual sympathies I do not know and can't even suspect. Thank you most of all to the pollworkers, and a hearty thank you to my fellow voters, and may the blessing we have of taking part and doing our part spill over from us for the good of our community as a whole.

Decisions are being made on this day, but they are almost all decisions about what work we have to do the next day, and next year, and on into the next few. Take a deep breath, say a prayer as you are comfortable doing, and let's look on ahead -- to holiday movies, to the Candlelight Walking Tour, for a new year drawing near, and to continue serving together in addressing the needs around us.


Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and preacher in central Ohio; he has political opinions and a basic commitment to democracy. Tell him about anarchy or any other option you prefer at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack77 on Threads.