Guest Post by Lynn Zimmerman

WHY DO I VOTE

Why do I vote? 

As I write this post, I’m sitting on my patio with soot raining down on me from a forest fire that’s been burning for the last couple of months near where I live. Fueled by the dry air, dead trees due to a beetle infestation and rising temperatures, it’s one of the largest fires in Colorado history.  

It’s hard not to focus on the negative – it is 2020 after all. Most of us wake each day and wonder what could happen next.

My 2020 year in review so far seems more like a horror movie than highlight reel. Someone I care about has been battling the effects of COVID-19 since May. The virus took away the opportunity for me to celebrate my niece’s high school graduation with my family and forced me to cancel most of the plans I had made for travel in 2020 and the beginning of 2021. 

Recently, I’ve lost sleep worrying that my health insurance is going to be taken away from me or become too expensive due to my pre-existing conditions. And that my nieces and nephews are going to have fewer freedoms than I did as a young adult. 

It’s hard not to feel helpless about things that are going on in my personal life, in our country and our world. 

So why do I vote? Because I have hope. 

I have hope that there is a leader who can help our country find a common ground. That we can learn to have compassion for our neighbors again. And that we can take actions that will keep COVID-19 from spreading so we can return to doing the things we love without risking our health and the health of others. 

I have hope because I know there are people who believe the science that says we need to make changes in how we live to make our planet a safe place for future generations. 

I have hope because on October 24 I am celebrating 20 years of being a cancer survivor. I believe that we can become a country that gives everybody access to affordable healthcare.  

I have hope because my niece left for college this fall and I’m certain she is going to change the world. 

I have hope because I see more people speaking up and coming together to fight for what is right in the world.