Our vote will mirror our character

Our vote will mirror our character

By TRACY STIEBER

For the first 24 years of my life, Ohio was home. And like many, opportunities and life choices have meant that I no longer reside in Ohio. Yet, so many of the life lessons in my Midwestern youth make me who I am today. They are rooted in the values found in farm country, in the middleclass community, and in family. These include:

·       Working more than an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay.

·       It’s good to have dreams. It’s better (and harder) to make those dreams reality. And you do that through quiet, steadfast, day-in-and-day- out hard work.

·       There is a difference between “standing on your own two feet” and “doing it on my own.” It’s the difference between pride and arrogance.

·       And most of all, that “character is the measure of a person – there is no substitute for being true.

You are the sole judge of your own character… and it’s as simple as looking yourself in the mirror.”

There is also a common theme to these lessons – balance. Taking the good with the bad, understanding tradeoffs, looking at the big picture. I am embarrassed by this election season. It’s like our values and lessons have been cast aside in wave after wave of toxic rhetoric. It’s made me angry, numb, and frustrated, and has left me wondering if my voice matters. Will it ever matter again?

It seems to run counter to who we are as Midwesterners and Americans. In part, I believe this is why we are so frustrated. We know we are better than this. And, in my darker moments, there is an almost overwhelming impulse to lash back, to “throw them all out!”

But I know this is not my truth.

My truth is to see this through, to not “throw the baby out with the bathwater.” It is a matter of character. My character.

It is my task to “separate the wheat from the chaff” – no matter how hard it is. It is a hard job. My job. It is my responsibility to weigh the pros and the cons – to find balance. My balance.

I am still a Midwesterner at heart. I am proud to do my job. In the quiet of the voting booth, we will do it. We will find the right balance that we can live with. And, as the ballot sheet transforms into a mirror, we will see the character of ourselves, our families, our communities, and our nation.

Tracy Stieber is an Ohio native who now lives in Pennington, New Jersey.