Voting With Love

YOU CAN'T TELL SOMEONE YOU LOVE THEM AND THEN VOTE FOR SOMEONE WHO WILL HURT THEM

We hear the word "love" so often in our daily lives. We express it to friends, family, and even the broader world. But what does it mean when our actions directly contradict those words, especially in the voting booth?

Love is more than a warm feeling or comforting affirmation; it is a call to action. Love is responsibility, and in today's world, one of the most potent tools of that responsibility is our vote.

When we tell someone, "I love you," it carries weight. It signifies that we care for their well-being, their safety, and their right to live fully and authentically. If we truly mean those words, our love must extend beyond personal relationships and enter the realm of public action, including the political decisions we make. Voting is one of the most consequential actions we can take in support of others. It determines policies that impact healthcare, safety, housing, education, and basic human rights.

Yet, the dissonance often arises when someone claims love for their neighbor, friend, or family member while supporting political leaders or policies that strip away their dignity, rights, and safety. How can we say we love LGBTQ+ people, women, people of color, or the economically disadvantaged, and then vote for candidates who enact laws that harm them? Love demands consistency between our words and actions.

For many marginalized communities, voting isn't just about abstract policies; it's about survival. Policies related to healthcare, police violence, trans rights, reproductive rights, immigration, and education are life-and-death issues. They affect whether someone has access to life-saving medical treatment, whether they can walk down the street without fear, and whether they can live freely as themselves without persecution.

It is not enough to privately affirm that we care about people; we must ensure our public actions reflect that care. Love without justice is empty. Love that remains silent in the face of oppression is complicit in that oppression.

If we truly love someone, our vote must be a reflection of that love. We cannot tell someone we love them and vote for someone who will strip away their rights, dehumanize them, or deny them safety. It's time to align our love with our actions, ensuring that when we enter the voting booth, we are casting votes that protect, uplift, and affirm the lives of those we claim to love.

This is how love moves from being just a word to being a force for good. Voting is one way to love our neighbors in action, standing against policies that hurt them, and standing up for the world we want to build together.