I voted. And you?

I don’t believe in telling people what to do. But I can tell you what I did and why.

I voted.

I voted because I believe it’s my responsibility to participate in my community. I believe voting is a privilege long fought for by my forebearers who demanded to be heard. I vote because voting is one of the few ways we, as a people, collectively shape our future without having to write a large check.

It’s that distribution of power that makes voting so dangerous – specifically to the elite class in this country investing in a future that only benefits them and theirs.

I vote in every election, but especially in this election, because there couldn’t be more at stake.

I get not wanting to vote. Most contests end up between two old tapioca white guys who say a lot of pretty words but rarely do anything to make everyone’s lives better. The system is and has traditionally been rigged against people of color, sexual minorities, and all women.

I understand not wanting to participate in a system created in favor of rich white men. I recognize the desire to burn it all down and warm myself in the flames of self-destruction.

But I can’t do that.

I participate in this broken system because not doing so would create serious consequences – especially for marginalized communities. If it all burns, the privileged won’t be the ones dangling above the flames. Our most vulnerable – our children, our elderly, our BIPOC and LGBTQAI+ communities – they are the ones who will get scorched.

2016-2020 showed me exactly how perilous a wrong choice could be. I remember the deliberate misinformation and blatant lies, the internal chaos, children in cages, unaffordable healthcare, horrific unemployment, an economy in shreds, and a pandemic that killed over 1.2 million in the United States. I remember the armed crowd at the Capitol who nearly killed our elected officials. I remember the lack of accountability.

Those years continue to reverberate. Today, hundreds of thousands of women have lost a choice in their own healthcare and their own bodies. Affirmative Action has been gutted. Our Supreme Court just took away the right to vote for over 1,600 Virginians.

Today’s fight for the leadership of our country isn’t between two of the same-old same-old, suited-up cups of vanilla pudding. The differences between these two candidates, in my opinion, couldn’t be more startling.

One stands for unity, the other factions. One stands for individual freedoms for all, the other stands for money and power. One embraces diversity, the other plans to suppress, imprison and deport anyone who disagrees with him. He’s even threatened to kill them.

I can’t kid myself into believing my vote doesn’t count. Because if Donald Trump gets another term, his malice, greed, narcissism, and general ineptitude will negatively impact more than just my life. He stands in direct opposition to our nation, our ideology, and our values in favor of his own ego. And I can’t let that pass on my watch by abdicating my responsibility.

So, I voted. And I voted for Kamala Harris. Happily. Excitedly. And with every ounce of hope that she will find a way to bring us all together again.

I voted for her because she is the candidate who supports education and safety in schools, she fights for women’s equality and autonomy, she believes in commonsense immigration laws, and she is the ONLY candidate EVER to lay out a plan for supporting the mental and physical health of Black men in the United States. Why has that never happened before?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with everything Kamala Harris stands for – especially her stance on the genocide happening now in Gaza.

But remember the phrase Obama loved to quote: “Perfect is the enemy of good.”

I don’t have the luxury of waiting for a perfect candidate to cast my perfect vote. Perfect candidates don’t exist. I’m not happy with the two-party system, but it’s the only one I’ve got and the only one through which I must work to create a better life for myself, my family, and my community.

I can’t tell you what to do. But with so much riding on this election, I can encourage you to vote. If you’re voting for the first time or you haven’t voted in a while – it doesn’t matter. Your vote is important. If it wasn’t, so many powerful people wouldn’t be trying to stop you.

You have two days. Make them count.