I haven’t written much lately because very little can be said that doesn’t come under attack. This is evidenced on every social media platform. In fact, when someone posted this past week that October 12 was National Stop Bullying Day, some commenters were actually bullying other commenters. It seems a little ironic that election day immediately follows Halloween. Halloween seems to fit the focus on fear. I wish that election day could have a greater connection with Thanksgiving although I know the holiday season has its challenges for many.
While many of us publicly say we celebrate our diversity, do we really mean to the extent the diversity meets the criteria we’ve established for ourselves? How many of us think that the city would be better off if everyone or at least the majority on the City Council is Republican or how many think it would be better if that majority is Democrat or some other political preference?
The following represents Cypress’ Voting Demographics from the OC Registrar of Voters’ website. With 30,825 registered voters, these numbers represent approximately 90% of Cypress’ population that is over 18 and eligible to vote.
Democrat 37.3%
Republican 33.2%
No Political Preference 24%
American Independent 3.4%
Libertarian 1%
Green .3%
Peace and Freedom .3%
Miscellaneous .4%
An important question for me to ask myself is if everyone I’m voting for represents the diversity of our city or just my beliefs? If everyone that wins in November only represents my views and not the other voices in the city, will that bother me? Do you think it should bother us if it is heavily skewed one way or the other? I would imagine that it would bother us if it was skewed in a direction we disagreed with.
In the same way that we have political differences, I know there are many religious and philosophical differences. That being said, there are some principles found in the Bible that, for me, are very practical. The first is “Come let us reason together.” Notice it doesn’t say come let us agree together. What I do know is that there is not a healthy way forward without a healthy dialogue. Another good standard is “Let there be peace among you to the extent it depends on you.” While I know everyone can point the finger as to whose fault the current state of chaos is, there is another saying that isn’t in the Bible but is applicable that it takes two to tango.
My hope is that everyone who will vote between now and November 8 will do so in a manner that they believe is the best for our wonderful city. My only concern is that if we only consider our own issues and not those of the city as a whole, we could end up with a City Council that is heavily skewed one way or the other. If that happens, it is unlikely that the present chaos we are experiencing will end.
As we consider who we are going to vote for in this election, it is my hope that we will vote for people that will actively and thoughtfully listen to all the voices in our wonderful city. As an active volunteer at one of our elementary schools and a volunteer at our church’s drive through food pantry, I can assure you that there are a lot of needs that have nothing to do with politics.