For Dogs and Men

     This current presidential election cycle has been a demoralizing blow to our country. It has been divisive and toxic. Personally, I have been unsure how to vote and discouraged and fearful over my options. Recently, I had an experience that taught me about hope in the face of a storm. 

For Dogs

     My community was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew. In its wake my family has been volunteering with our church group to help with the clean-up of flooded homes and fallen trees. While working, my volunteer crew came upon an abandoned dog in the woods. He was chained to a tree, without shelter, food, or water. His body was a thin layer of skin, stretched like cellophane across his bones. Brownish red scabs held the chain on his neck in place where it had rubbed his flesh raw. The carabiner clipped on the chain had somehow pierced all the way through his throat, like a huge earing, where it was rusted in place. I called animal control and the humane society, but the shelters were full beyond capacity and he’d only be put down if we brought him in.

     That’s how he got a ride in my car to an emergency vet clinic, where they cut the chains from around his neck and he began his long road to recovery. A few days and several hundred dollars later, he has a warm bed in my home. We hope that when he is healthy and ready, he’ll find the forever home he deserves. Until then, we will love him and do our part in his story. 

     Financially, it’s been a rough year for my family. I knew we couldn’t afford the vet bills for a very sick and abandoned dog, but when I saw him, that didn’t matter. We are a busy family, already struggling to meet all the demands on our time. It didn’t matter. Space is limited and we have a house full of kids and pets, but again, that didn’t matter. Doing what is right is often not the easy or most pragmatic path. It’s a leap of faith and an act of hope and courage. For my family, taking on this dog was not a practical choice. It was an ethical one. 

And Men

     In the current political climate, many of us feel trapped by the unappealing candidates of the two mainstream parties. As the discussion of third party candidates becomes more common, there is a frequent counter-narrative to that option. The complaint is that people do not want to throw their vote away by supporting a third party candidate because they “know they can’t win”. To many of us, it seems too much of a longshot. Using your vote for an underdog just doesn’t seem practical. 

     We seem to have arrived at a place in our culture where it doesn’t matter how much we agree with an unconventional candidate on policy and principle. We will not vote our conscience out of fear that someone we abhor will beat someone we loathe. Fear of what we don’t want is a stronger motivator than actively pursuing what we do want. Strangely, we have begun to go against our own advice to our children and we are following the herd off the cliff simply "because everyone else is doing it". 

     I believe that the inevitability of one of the two main candidates winning only exists because we say it does. I choose to not give it that power. It is more important to make an ethical vote than it is to make a practical vote. Will my candidate win? Statistically, there is a very small chance of that happening. It doesn’t matter. Voting for what and who I believe in is a privilege and responsibility. 

     The wolves are snapping at the heels of anyone who dares to veer away from the stampede off that political cliff. They will snarl, 

     “But if you don’t vote the party line then THAT other candidate will win! You are a traitor. Don’t you know it’s hopeless? Join the real world.” 

     Too long our country has been hungry for a better way. We want real representation. Neglectful and corrupt leaders have done immeasurable harm to our nation. This election cycle has undeniably uncovered the failures of a system that has held our country captive to the idea that the political parties rule instead of the voice of the people. I will not be chained to that narrative. I will vote for the individual who I believe will be a moral leader who recommends policies that represent me. That is the definition of democracy. Win or lose, my voice will be counted with those who did not bow to corruption. It may be an impractical vote, but it is definitely an ethical vote. 

     In way of an epilogue, I will return to my new furry friend. When I shared my story of the abandoned dog on social media, friends and strangers alike stepped up and volunteered to pay medical bills and offer care. I was blown away at the generosity of my community. People from all over the country, and even other countries, came together to do what was right for this dog. I took the leap and put him in my car knowing it wasn’t realistic in my circumstances to help that poor pup, but others immediately reached out to support life and hope. 

     When one of us is willing to speak up, it gives validation and momentum to others. Who knows what will happen if we decide to step forward and be the one to act. Hope is contagious. I believe this is true both for dogs and men.