Election results have yet to come in as I write this. We are all wondering whether the election will be resolved in a day or two or if something will occur that drags this out.

Participatory Democracy

I write to remind you that no matter what the results, we live in a participatory democracy. If your candidate(s) don’t win, there will be the temptation to curl up in a ball and try to shut the world out. But that won’t help.

No matter how the election turns out, the new president is not sworn in until January 20, 2025. There may be lots of talk about what the winning candidate wants to do when he or she takes office, but nothing official can happen until that time. What’s more, the founding father established a system of “checks and balances” so that no one section of the government has too much power. A divided Congress will indeed make it more difficult for the winning candidate to accomplish goals, but it also assures us that both parties are represented to decide our way forward.

We will need to address issues like these:  How can we manage immigration? What’s to be done about prices? Climate change means sacrifice. Are we ready to make changes so we can give a healthier world to our children?

Do women truly deserve to have their medical decisions made by others. For fifty years, women showed that they could be good mothers and contributing members of society. Why don’t we give them back that power?

Deeply Unsettling Election

This election will long be remembered for its chaos, its change of candidate for the Democratic Party, and of course, its acrimony and unacceptable name-calling of people who have put aside their lives in order to run for different positions in local, state, and national government.

Americans on both sides stepped forward to participate in the campaign process from attending events to making phone calls, knocking on doors, and sending postcards. Not since women worked long and hard for the right to vote has there been so much organized, [mostly] non-violent energy invested in our election process.

Voter turn-out may be record-setting as well.

Treasure What We Have Though it is Imperfect

We all must remember to treasure what we have— a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” We do not want it to “perish from this earth.”

Once this election is settled, there is still so much to do. This is our country. No matter who becomes president, violence or shutting out the world is not the answer. Our energy needs to go into work that makes us better. Whether it’s ladling out soup at a homeless shelter, cleaning up a local park or working through government channels to address local, state, or national issues, we can all find a place to invest our energy.

Don’t waste it on anger or regret. No matter who wins, our communities still need us.

And if your candidate wins, reach out to others in the community who might have voted differently. Wait a few weeks, so tensions may ease, but our country needs all of us to move forward together. If you’re packing lunches for the homeless at your church or synagogue or community center, it doesn’t matter how you cast your ballot. There are plenty of things we can all do together.

The election on November 5 provides a “chance for change.” It’s up to us to help bring about the change we want. This is the very essence of a participatory democracy. Americans have died in wars and on our own streets fighting for the rights that should be a “given” in a country like America.

We cannot let them down.

As the Pledge of Allegiance became more widely accepted after its introduction in 1892, various groups weighed in on the wording.  There have been alterations from the original wording penned by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931):

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

One change was spearheaded by the American Legion and the Daughters of the American Revolution. In 1923 the groups pushed for “my flag” to be replaced by “the Flag of the United States of America.” The organizations felt that with so many immigrants coming to the country that it was important for newcomers to affirm their loyalty to the U.S. 

In 1954 Congress added the words “under God,” to the pledge. This campaign was led by the Knights of Columbus, the world’s largest Catholic fraternal organization.

The addition of “under God” has led to numerous court challenges from people who cite the Constitution’s First Amendment specifying that Congress shall not make any laws pertaining to establishment of religion. Many believe that a pledge of patriotism should not be tied to a belief in God.  Thus far the legal challenges have been unsuccessful.

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Changes in the Way We Recognize the Flag (the Salute)

Today when we say the Pledge of Allegiance, we have learned to place our right hand over our heart as we recite the words. The original salute was very different. It was called a military salute, and it consisted of the right arm extended upward, with the palm down slightly. This was the form schoolchildren and members of the public were taught to use when they said the Pledge from 1892 on.

Today, of course, that is the arm gesture that we associate with “Heil Hitler.”  It began being used officially in Nazi Germany in 1933 when the Nazis passed a law that stated that all employees of the state were to be saluted in that way and violators would be punished.

This stirred a big reaction among Americans though it took almost

ten years to pass a new law.  In December of 1942 Congress passed an amendment that specified that the pledge “should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.”

Is the Pledge of Allegiance Still Widely Used?

Today most states provide time for schools to say the pledge, though it is still at the discretion of the local school board and/or the individual teacher. Five states do not have this provision (Hawaii, Iowa, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Wyoming).

To read about how the Pledge of Allegiance came into existence, read “Writing the Pledge of Allegiance.“

While many people look to 1920 and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment as the start of women casting ballots in the United States, this actually isn’t true. Women in Wyoming Territory gained suffrage rights in 1869, and this was to lead the way for other western states and territories to permit women to vote. By 1914 all states west of the Rockies (except New Mexico) gave women the right to vote.

But long before women in the West were voting, women in New Jersey were permitted to vote. Early New Jersey laws defined voters as “inhabitants,” so women were eligible to vote from the first American elections on. Unfortunately, their rights were taken away all too soon, all because of a very heated local election.

When it comes to voting, a local issue is often the one that really lights a fire under the electorate. In 1806 it was a political fight over a county court house. In 1806 the Essex County court house, located in Newark, was deteriorating, and it was decided that county residents should be permitted to vote on the location of the planned-for new court house. Elizabethtown desperately wanted the court house within their town lines.

The county was alive with excitement over the issue, and it got to the point that it was unsafe for residents of one town to visit the other. Cases of assault could and did happen.

On February 10, 1806, voting began at a poll on Day’s Hill, where Elizabethtown wanted the court house to be. Reports were that all proceeded calmly for a time, but with the opening of the poll on the second day, irregularities began to appear. (Voting at this time often extended over several days in order to allow travel time for people to get in to town to cast their votes.)

By the third day, with the opening of a poll near Newark, fraud became rampant, with no effort to conceal what was going on. Men and boys voted unchallenged as they went from poll to poll casting repeat votes. Wagons were used to transport the voters more quickly. Women, black, white, single and married, voted repeatedly as well. Men and boys who wanted to vote again donned hats and petticoats so they could vote yet again at the same polling place.

The largest number of votes ever before cast in the county had been 4,500. For this election, there were nearly 14,000 votes cast. Newark had won, but the election was finally declared void.

The episode brought attention to the suffrage laws and the irregularities possible through it. In 1807, a bill was introduced limiting the franchise to free white male citizens. It passed by heavy majorities. It is unclear why women were particularly sought out to be “punished” for this shenanigan-filled election, but we can assume that New Jersey legislators were simply attempting to align themselves with neighboring states with what was the norm of the day.

From the women, there did not seem to be much reaction. There was little follow-up in the press, nor did there seem to be any public outcry. or at least the newspapers did not report on it.

Voting is a privilege and a responsibility. With this story in mind, I urge you to vote early, but please–don’t vote often!

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