When I cast my vote, I imagine faces.

I imagine the face of…

a hungry child who could be helped by better social programs.

a battered woman who feels unprotected and vulnerable.

a person ravaged by a war of national convenience.

a baby grimacing in pain during a grotesque abortion
procedure.

a soldier in a firefight needing better funding for better
equipment to survive.

a person denied the same rights I enjoy simply because they
are different.

a person who was viciously attacked without a means of
self-defense.

a person imprisoned for decades for a non-violent crime.

a senior citizen when their Social Security benefit is
threatened.

These faces have become the policies that direct how I vote.
I no longer see the face of the politicians running for office or the parties
they represent. I only see injustice and unrighteousness and want to make a
difference with my vote. When I see these faces that reflect suffering and
confusion, I owe the lives of the real people who live behind those faces my
vote to help bring change and to let them know they are not alone.