OPINION: how my faith and identity led me to Jill Stein – The Cauldron
Photo Credit: Hannah Gates
Yes, I am voting for Jill Stein. I’ve read enough biased media, seen countless uninspiring TikToks and posts from people like AOC, and kept up with opinions from my own town and the New York Times.
You’ve all made your points. If I vote for Stein, I’m supposedly ruining Kamala Harris’s chances or Donald Trump’s. I’m wasting my vote and have no real chance.
But have any of you ever stopped to consider that the whole point of a democratic society is for people to vote and make their own choices to contribute based on their own thoughts? Probably not, because you’re too worried about my vote to do your own soul-searching.
A few months ago, my grandmother called and asked, “Hannah, who are you voting for?” As the only one in my family studying politics, I knew this question was coming. It’s expected that my stance matters. So when my 86-year-old granny followed up with, “You’re voting for Kamala Harris, aren’t you?” it didn’t catch me off guard.
“No, I’m not voting for her. I don’t agree with her or what she stands for,” I told my grandmother. She went silent, and for a moment, I braced myself for an argument. Instead, she simply said, “Okay, I’ll talk to you later,” and hung up just as quickly as the conversation started.
I wish more political leaders, professors, journalists, classmates and even foreigners living outside of America, who don’t have a say in our political landscape, would follow my granny’s lead.
Hear me now, Democrats, Republicans and even the Green Party: none of you own my vote. I will vote for who I believe is right. My vote will reflect my beliefs, my critical thinking and who I feel has the best interest of the world at heart, not just Americans.
I’m not a blue-sky eagle type of girl. I don’t blindly pledge my loyalty to American culture, which constantly shifts what it considers just and righteous.
As a Christian, I pledge my life to the Cross. I will continue to follow Jesus and embrace all that He teaches. Turning the other cheek, praying for my enemies, forgiving those who have harmed me and living in full repentance by turning away from my old sinful ways.
Not a day goes by where I wake up and think, “What can I do to be a better Democrat or Republican?” No, I wake up asking, “What can I do to be a better person?”
In 2020, I voted for Joe Biden. I even sat at the polls, pressing buttons for those with disabilities, helping them navigate the two-party system.
There’s so much division over who should be what, yet everyone seems to just echo the same noise. As a country, we’ve accepted that killing Palestinian children is normal as long as it’s under an occupied regime. We tolerate that Black lives are valued less in our prison systems, schools, and jobs. At least they get to breathe—sometimes.
We’re sending money away to help our little mini Americas while we cannot even feed the citizens of the real one. We pick and choose when we want to play nice, and it’s almost never out of honor; it’s always to maintain our position on top.
What will it take for us to be better? Another world war?
I will cast my vote for the candidate who I think cares about the humanity of America. I will vote for Jill Stein, even if the whole world votes against her, because I choose to support what I believe is good, not the “lesser of two evils.”
Some might call what Jill Stein is proposing a pipe dream, but I call it righteous thinking.
If you choose to criticize and condemn me for believing in a candidate who stands for people, peace, and the planet, then so be it. I believe you’ll have to answer to God for that one, not me.