Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Open Letter
Dear Friends,
I?ve been struggling with writing this open letter for some time. You may only know me through acquaintance or have loved me my whole life. In my efforts to live openly and authentically, I need to say this to you because you matter to me. I believe that every person should be able to believe in what they choose and that proselytizing should be done objectively, without directing emotional personal attacks. I try to let my life be an example of what I believe and to treat others the way I?d like to be treated.
But the time is here when I can not speak objectively loud enough to be heard and even when I try, it?s impossible to keep my voice from cracking because my heart is hurting and I can no longer debate rationally alone.
So many people in this country are hurting deeply. Every time we turn on the news and see another person killed by gang violence, another 10,000 people laid off, the videos of tortured prisoners, and the elderly looking for jobs to make ends meet, it can make us want to turn off completely because the reality of our nation is unbearable to our empathetic consciousness.
Last night a woman told me that it doesn?t matter to her who becomes president, because life for her family will not change. Her brother will still get married this winter. She?ll keep going to work everyday. She can feed her family and drive wherever she needs to. I had a hard time saying anything but ?Congratulations? because that is not the same future outlook for millions of Americans.
For me, I wonder how I?ll be able to cover the medical bills in my household and for my family without fair coverage. I see jobs around me being cut everyday and hold no certainty for my own. I have had to cut back on groceries and gas, but I still consider myself so lucky. There are many people that have no kind of health care coverage, can?t put food on the table and even if they can, it?s without access to fresh and healthy nutrition.
When we vote, it?s not just for ourselves. It is our duty to speak for those without a voice in our government and to stand up for those oppressed by inequality and injustice in our nation. There are millions of people in this country that can not vote and even if we see little impact a presidential election would have on our lives, it is with integrity and empathy that we must speak for the people that are hurting and aren?t being heard.
The outcome of this election will impact my life greatly. Angi, my partner of four years, has no health coverage because our state does not recognize the commitment we?ve made to each other and will not allow my work benefits to cover her. We both struggle to pay back out student loans and make the ends meet each month. The future of our children is as stake as the laws try to prevent us from trying to conceive and someday when we do, there is no legal precedence in our state for Angi to complete a second-parent adoption. If I was ever injured and unable to speak for myself, she could not visit me in a hospital. We are not asking for a parade. We are asking for basic rights.
My vote will be for my family, but it will also be for my fellow citizens that have been left behind and the future we will share together. I will vote for the security of American jobs. I will vote to ensure health care to every person in this country. I will vote to make taxes fair and to save the middle class critical funds they need to feed their children, pay their bills, and stimulate our economy. I will vote to end this war in a safe and reasonable way. I will vote to fight and prevent domestic violence. I will vote to save small farms and help them feed our hungry. I will vote to use the $10.3 billion dollars we are spending in Iraq each month to save our own country. I will vote for alternative energy and to decrease our dependence on oil. I will vote to support our schools from early childhood education through college. I will vote to end discrimination and prevent hate crimes that have victimized so many. I will vote to keep our air and water clean.
My vote is for Barack Obama because he understands these issues and has the integrity and empathy to fight for the rights of all Americans. He stands for every reason I listed above. John McCain is clear that he is against each of those same reasons. Please think of me and the millions of people that hold their future earnestly in wait of your decision. Every vote counts. Make sure yours speaks for freedom and peace, democracy and justice, fairness and compassion.
I know people are passionate about this election and that it?s easy to be defensive or turn off from the despair in this country. It hurts when the lights are turned on and we choose to face the disaster that has been accumulating around us for years. Instead of closing your eyes, please take the hand of someone who is hurting and tell them that you care. You can do that by voting for their protection and for their livelihood.
Thank you for listening to me and hearing my pain. I have hope and faith in this country and how we can heal together. You have the choice too. Please vote responsibly.
With all my love,
Sarah
Re: Open Letter