We Voted

Editor, Times-Union:
On November 3, We the People voted … for our kids, our grandkids and great grandkids ….
For Alex Pretti and Renee Good … for little Liam with the bunny-eared hat … for the hundreds if not thousands of (known) American citizens sitting unjustly in detention centers. We voted for the 140 Capital police officers who were beaten on January 6, 2021, and who then watched their law-breaking abusers get pardoned … for the millions of American citizens currently covered but about to lose their health care if nothing changes … for all the survivors of the horror unleashed upon them at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and many, many others yet to be investigated. We voted for the hardworking families and their children who have lost their government benefits allowing them to eat and survive … for all who feel oppressed and discriminated against because of their religion, gender, skin color, or love/life partner choices.
We voted for the hundreds of thousands of families who starved to death or died from curable diseases when USAID was selfishly and cruelly cut off and for the federal civil servants, including those who dedicated their careers to helping our veterans, all because of one greedy trillionaire with a chain saw and some snot-nosed hackers. We voted for the sick, disabled, and elderly in assisted living and nursing homes who may find themselves homeless because of deep Medicaid cuts …. for all the hard-working, law abiding immigrants who came to America (just as our ancestors did) hoping for a better life in pursuit of the American dream, who were pulled from their jobs, shackled and sent to countries totally foreign to them. We voted for all the innocent children who happily went to school one day but were returned to their families in body bags because of gun violence. We voted for people who deserve a fair living wage to finally get it and for those fortunate few at the top to recognize their duty to pay their fair share of taxes.
We also voted for all of you … for the freedom to continue to enjoy our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness … to keep our right to vote in every election. We the People do want to make America great again, but we are not sure when that exactly was, since it seems to depend on who is asked. However, we are sure that being a great nation does not involve bullying, hostility, threats, violence, name calling, bigotry, racism, hate, or ignoring the rule of law. Hopefully the results of the November 3 election will finally lead to the necessary changes to make us great again. On that day, “We the People” did the one thing we could still do — we voted!!!
Jeanne Tuka Schutz
Winona Lake, via email