Photo Courtesy Jody Benson

Editor,

You know that sticker you get when you cast your ballot, the one that says “I VOTED   I Made Freedom Count in Los Alamos County”? I love that sticker and its American-flag’s Red White and Blue patriotism! Wearing it shows I made the very most basic effort to participate in American democracy. 

I’m so proud of us. We who have that sticker took the time to (1) be educated about how government works, (2) be informed about issues both global and local, (3) research the candidates’ experience, character, and commitment, and (4) finally, singularly, participate in choosing who will best represent our values and, concurrently, those of the nation. (My main value, by the way, is Family: respect and protect the Family that is All Life, starting with our Earth Mother as the only living planet, and extending to all other species as each, every one, is essential and beloved in God’s creation.)

Another thing I love about the sticker’s American-flag Red White and Blue patriotism? All those white stars in the blue “V” of Voted.  You know how in the flag each state gets a star because each is a prerequisite for creating a sea-to-shining-sea, continent-extending nation with the astonishing diversity of coastlines, prairies, mountains, deserts, forests, rivers, wildlife, and human cultures? And in the “V”? Those stars—man, those stars make my American patriotic spirit soar!—represent each of our own eachness that creates the diversity required for this nation to maintain its curiosity, energy, inventiveness, scientific advancements, and technological wizardry that come with the intermingling of so many different individuals—we of the Each Star. As we do of the Earth on which we live, we of the Each Star will sustain and protect the nation that is intelligent, big-souled, and culturally, exquisitely Us All. 

Man, I love the star-filled V in the I Voted sticker! And seeing you wearing yours? Yeah. It lifts my patriotic heart and makes my spirit soar! Thank you for making democracy work! 

For voting information in Los Alamos County, go to NMVote.org or https://www.losalamosnm.us/government/elected_officials/county_clerk/election_information

Jody Benson