Heroes
To those who stood for hours to vote: I am awed, humbled and inspired by you.
I received my ballot by mail weeks in advance. I sat in the comfort of my home while I filled it out, and put it in a drop box only a few miles from my front door.
I enjoyed the privilege that all of you deserve. In retrospect, I owe you an apology. I saw what was happening. I knew about the scaling back of voting hours, the purges and challenges, the deliberate complication of ballots. And while I shook my head and quietly condemned these actions, it wasn't enough.
As I viewed the pictures of what you endured, my own silence shamed me. Voting is the most sacred act an American citizen performs. It was and is my duty to stand up to anyone who would hinder my fellow citizens from performing that act. I should have written, spoken, and shouted to the full strength of my body and will for you. I am so grateful that you were undeterred, that you showed up in force with a steely determination to be counted. Never in my life have I seen an electorate with such fierce passion and commitment to defy the forces opposing them and claim their power.
You have my word that I will take action. I will write and speak and work until every one of you enjoys the ease and certainty of being counted that I do. And two years from now, if the work is not complete, I will travel across the country to stand with you wherever the endurance is most challenging, to serve and protect and support, to ease the burden. By doing this, I hope to live up to the shining example you have shown me, your country, and the people of the world.
You are my heroes, every last one of you.
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