In Our Family, We Cast our Votes for Decency

I so clearly remember the first time I voted. I was a freshman in college, living away from home for the first time. I had turned 18 on October 20th, just two weeks before the election. I didn't have a car, so a guy from my dorm offered to drive me to the polls. "We have to help out our fellow Democrats," he said. 

I grew up in a political family, so voting for the first time was an important rite of passage; it felt strange to do it for the first time without my parents or grandparents, but that didn't take away from the thrill of finally being old enough to exercise this privilege. Though I'd participated in several political campaigns already, this was the first time I could actually make my voice known, however small it was. I was an adult, and I was voting!

I've had the honor to accompany each of our five children to vote, as one by one, they came of age. This time was Seth's turn. He is 20 already, but he's been in Paraguay for most of the past two years, so this was his first time voting. And he really wanted to do it in person. So Shulamith, Isaiah, and I took him to in-person, early voting yesterday. We had our mail-in ballots filled out just in case the lines were too long, or people weren't wearing masks or social distancing, but it all worked out perfectly. Hardly anyone was there, and the setup was designed to be COVID safe. I was so proud of Seth. Since returning from Paraguay, he has done much to educate himself on the candidates and issues and to become an informed, responsible voter.

Eli, Amanda, and Gerald opted to mail their ballots. The Utah Erichsen-Websters have voted! We cast our votes for families, for education, and for healthcare. We cast our votes for science, for sensible gun legislation, and for the environment. We cast our votes for social and racial justice and BLM, and for the rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.

But mostly, we cast our votes for decency, for humanity, for kindness. In our family, we proudly cast our votes for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.