Culture clash

Let's talk.  Through the years, our diverse American population has become more and more averse to cultural beliefs that are not our own.  I can't remember how many times, especially on Facebook, I've been blasted because I've said something that someone from another culture got their back up and lowered the boom on me.  Of course, that only exacerbates the agitation and aggravation, but it does nothing to resolve the understanding or the differences. For the most part, I try to ignore those posts. But, that doesn't resolve anything, either.  So, let's talk. It's time we got back to disagreeing respectfully. Let's reason together, like God says to us in Isaiah.

Recently, I reposted a comment and picture showing people in India showing their voter I.D. cards. This morning, I had a comment of surprise from a lovely, delightful young woman from another culture.  It dawned on me that she may have been offended.  She may be from a culture that believes voter I.D.s are designed to keep her culture from voting.  That's the furthest thing from my mind.  I applaud all people who are registered and who vote.

What I believe is that voter I.D. will prevent is fraud. There's not been many elections that reported votes have come from residents of cemeteries. Many want to give illegal aliens the privilege to vote. Voting is a privilege for the citizens. Committing a crime can cost the ability to vote.  Entering this country illegally is wrong, so what right does the person from another country have more than the citizen of this country who's done wrong and paid the penalty for it?

The Bible says if we've broken one law, we've broken all of them.  I know, that's referring to God's law, but the principle is the same.  There are those who have used aliases and vote more than once. Hopefully, voter I.D. will prevent that. The same for those who are already dead.  I'm reminded of the saying of my childhood: Winners never cheat and cheaters never win.  That doesn't seem to be the way it's going these days, but if everyone cheats to win, we'll someday have a strong person come along who will outcheat everyone and take our voting rights away from us. Besides, cheating is only necessary when insecurity or inferiority is at play.

I want to look up to my leaders.  I want them to be like Daniel in the Bible.  He lived in a foreign country that did not believe as he did and yet, he was respected and called upon to solve many problems Babylon faced. He was able to bridge the cultural divide without compromising the standards he had personally.  That's the kind of leader America needs. That's the kind of person I want to be even though I have not nor will I ever be called upon to lead. That's the kind of people I admire in history and that's the kind of people God used to make our country great.


Going back to the young woman, I met her just once a few years ago when we were both answering the call for jury duty.  She impressed me and I've prayed for her ever since.  Not long after we met, I got a phone call from a man I'd never met, calling from a business I've never been in, from a town I rarely enter.  He found a book in the parking lot that had my name and phone number in it and was calling to tell me where I'd lost my book, but the book wasn't mine.  I had given my new friend my information so that we could stay in contact.  I tried everything I could think of to get in contact with her because the book was a library book.  My efforts came to nothing. Just a few weeks ago, she contacted me through Facebook and asked me to friend her.  I was thrilled.

Have I offended her because of our cultural differences?  I sincerely hope not. I'm hoping we can get together this summer while I'm not working at the school.  I want to be friends and I want to understand her culture instead of getting wrapped up in this divisiveness that has become so ingrained in our once great country. No, I'm not a Trump supporter, but I've seen our country go downhill for a lot of years.  I want more for our country, but we're not going to achieve it by screaming and cussing at one another.

Supposedly, those who disagree with me in regard to voter I.D. is their belief is that voter I.D. is designed to keep the poor and the elderly from voting.  If the law were to become national, how hard would it be to register everyone? Congress wastes a lot of money on less important things.  I'm sure there are lots of people much smarter than I who could come up with ways to register those who don't have any kind of picture I.D.

Yes, I know there are those who would have a difficult time finding their birth certificates. Naturalized citizens, I assume, would have their papers in order. Natural disasters, like hurricanes, might also cause problems, but there are so many backups today the problem should not be insurmountable. For decades, my mother believed she had no birth certificate because she'd been told the church where her birth certificate was stored had burned and there weren't backups.  In the early 20th century, official documents were often stored in churches. How could she get Social Security without a birth certificate?  Her younger brother said he got his and that news encouraged her to see if hers was also available through the state capitol.  Lo and behold it was, enabling her to not only apply for Social Security but to register to vote.  Come to think of it, if the elderly are on Social Security, getting a voter I.D. should be no problem at all. Identifications for children enter school are necessary, so documentation for anyone is readily available.

When I saw the picture of Indians holding up their I.D.s, it took me back to memories of Germany, where we lived from 1964-1967.  At that time, all Germans had an I.D.  Whether it was used for voting, I do not know, but if for any reason a citizen was stopped by the police, they'd better have their I.D. with them.  A woman was trying to beg in the military housing and a neighbor called the MP's.  I happened to walk out of my balcony and saw them talking to her.  What happened after that, I don't know, but the neighbor who called the MP's said the first thing they did was ask for her identity card.  Are there other countries who utilize I.D.s?  Research says there are many.

Come to think of it, we chip our pets to prevent theft.  Are our pets really more important than the privilege of voting? There are some banks and credit card companies who now place pictures on their cards.  Cell phones have fingerprint I.D. to keep people from stealing them. Protecting things and creatures precious to us has become a way of life.  Therefore, our ability to vote our conscience should also be important enough to want to protect.  Reading the Bible tells me the day is coming when that precious privilege will be taken away.

At that time, identities will be put in our foreheads or in our hands.  That, Dear Ones, is where I draw the line.