Today is Election Day here in North Carolina. I will be voting today.

It feels heretical to say this, but there are lots of reasons to not vote.

It feels pointless sometimes. It feels like nothing changes. It feels like the only people who really have a voice - at all levels of government - are the ones who give lots of campaign contributions. The rest of us? Maybe we get listened to in the most basic ways: an autogenerated email from a representative, 2 minutes to speak at a county commissioners meeting. Depending on who we are, we may not even get that.

I have been voting for primarily Democrats since 2008. And in all that time I have been told constantly that if I will vote, change will come. In 2020 there was record turn out across the board. Democrats were elected to power in all three branches of government. And we have continued to see the unchecked rise of fascism, the inability to hold anyone in power accountable for nearly anything, rising violence and mass shootings, and the erosion of basic rights that have been in place for decades.

Money pervades it all. The ability of groups and individuals to raise and give money in a variety of ways, some visible and some invisible, has warped our politics and given outsize influence to those with resources. Power becomes increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few. At first blush it feels like the kind of thing that the founding fathers would have railed against. Then you take a step back. Look at who the founding fathers really were - white men who were wealthy and many of whom made that wealth from slave labor - and you realize that some of this may just be baked in.

And it’s frustrating. I am frustrated with how polarized we all are. How parts of the country - hell parts of my own county - can’t talk to or about each other without descending into attacks, insults, and caricatures. I am frustrated that people keep getting killed with assault rifles. I am frustrated that inflation is rising and everything costs more. I am frustrated that my oldest daughter and her growing family want to put down roots here in the town they grew up in after her husband leaves the Marines, and that they will not be able to afford a house here.

I am frustrated that the planet is on fire and no one with the power to do anything seems to really care. I guess because the people with the money don’t care. So everything burns.

People keep saying go vote. And nothing seems to change. In fact, it feels worse.

And yet today I will go to the polls. I will vote like I have in every election since 2008. And I mean EVERY election.

Off year, on year, midterm, presidential, small odd year municipal. If there is a vote being held, I vote. Every single year since 2008 I have cast at least one vote.

I have given money to candidates. Not a lot. I have helped some candidates refine their messaging. I have offered advice from a lifetime spent doing communications work in some form or another. I have tried to be involved and informed. I have volunteered on local advisory boards, served on nonprofit boards, been the PTA President. I have tried to be an active local voice and volunteer.

And I think that the single best thing I have done to make my community, state, and nation better is vote.

Yes. Sometimes it feels futile. Sometimes I get frustrated at the decisions that are made - and those that go unmade - by our leaders. I get frustrated with what politics can look like in 2020s America. I think the system is deeply flawed.

And. The only way we have to change the system, the only mechanism available to us is our vote.

Today is Election Day here in North Carolina. I will be voting today.

I will be taking Justin with me, and modeling for him what it looks like to cast a ballot. I will make sure I get my “I voted” sticker. And I will get one for him too. And I will tell him that voting matters, even when we don’t feel like it. I will tell him how tragic it is that so few people vote. And I will remind him that we are the ones who save us.

It feels like a small thing. Maybe even an insignificant thing sometimes.

But please, I urge you. If you live in a place where there is an election today (and you didn’t early vote) then check your registration, head to the polls, and cast your ballot.

And vote.