I early voted this past Thursday in Shreveport.  It went smoothly as I was ushered in, through and out.

I thought about how such a simple but powerful act is a mere reflection of so much more.  The right to vote—to determine the laws we live under and the kind of country we live in—has been afforded to us, guaranteed to us throughout America’s history only by the great sacrifice, that “last full measure of devotion”—of more than 1.1 million Americans who were killed in combat throughout our history, and millions more who were grievously wounded, defending the freedoms we often take for granted.

I thought of Thomas Jefferson’s brilliant Declaration of Independence and the timeless moral truths it laid down in a governing blueprint for the ages.

I thought of the resolve and bravery of General George Washington who overcame numerous seemingly insurmountable obstacles and, by the force of his personality and regal bearing, held together a rag tag army many of whom had neither shoes in that freezing weather nor a weapon, to defeat the British army and secure America’s independence.

I thought of the Founding Fathers as they sat in the miserable heat of that Philadelphia convention hall from May to September 1787 with no cooling breeze of any kind because they had to keep the doors and windows closed and curtains drawn so as not to have it discovered that they were writing a constitution rather than doing what they were supposed to be doing—revising the Articles of Confederation.

It is inexplicable except by the hand of God how those men from such diverse backgrounds, often with no prior relationship with each other, came together, built trust and by the hardest framed a document that, along with the nation it gave rise to, is the envy of the world.

I think again of George Washington who, always lamenting his “want of qualifications,” reluctantly served as president of the convention and said almost nothing over the 4 months of the Convention.  Yet, his mere presence in the room—sitting silently on the raised dais—conveyed a moral authority and dignity to the gathering that did nothing less than hold the often volatile and heated proceedings together.

I think of the venerable Benjamin Franklin also, who, after weeks of sitting quietly in the convention hall, realized that the delegates were making only “small progress” and uttered the remarks for which he is probably best known as he implored the men to begin praying each morning before they began their deliberations:

Franklin rose, unsteady on his feet in his late eighties and with a weak voice; he would have immediately received the full attention of the delegates. We can almost hear in Franklin’s voice his age, fatigue, and wisdom.  “I have lived, Sir, a long time, and the longer I live the more convincing proofs I see of this truth—that God governs in the affairs of men.  And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, it is likely an empire can rise without His aid?”  The delegates began praying after that and they began to make progress.

I also think of Benjamin Franklin’s great quote at the conclusion of the Convention when he was asked by a woman in the street “Dr. Franklin, what have you wrought?” and he replied famously “a Republic, madam, if you can keep it.”

To say we must cherish our right to vote is not enough.  We must cling to it as a rare treasure because the right to vote and the necessity to have all legal votes count equally with that of every other voter is not only one of our fundamental constitutional rights but is also the right that is preservative of all our other rights.  

The Framers handed down to us a sacred gift.  The very least we can do in honor of their memory and sacrifice is to guarantee—by virtue of our vote—that we preserve that gift for ourselves and the Americans who will follow us, who will hopefully also ‘pledge their lives, their fortune and their sacred honor,’ to ensure that America continues to defend and protect the essential values imbedded in our Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.  Doing so will guarantee that America maintains a “Government by the Consent of Governed”, and that a “Government of the people, by the people, for the people” does not perish from the earth.