Today is the first day of early voting and I'm going to use my time to remind you what's at stake in this election.

First, I want to remind everyone out there that there are people with bad intentions and people with good intentions in every single walk of life. Despite that and regardless of our party affiliation, our incredible commitment to the idea that all people in the opposition party are bad people with bad intentions is deeply damaging our civil society.

Our evolution from a society that rolls up its sleeves and gets to work--to an entitled society that blames everyone else for our problems is also deeply damaging our country.

I've been studying what's happening in this country since the early 90's when I lived in a state where my civil rights were taken away from me by making it illegal to enact anti-discrimination laws. Fortunately the Supreme Court at the time declared that law unconstitutional. I'm not at all sure the current Supreme Court would do that. That attempt to make it illegal to enact anti-discrimination laws had its roots in the battle between authoritarianism and liberal democracy that took place during the McCarthy era and continued when the Goldwater campaign gave its mailing lists to the Moral Majority which resulted in abortion and gay rights being decided as the ideal wedge issues to be used to gain political power. We've been on a 70-year slow roll to where we find ourselves today.

Its pretty obvious to me what many men in power then, what many men in power now and what many men who want to be in power in the future have in mind for women, people of color and anyone else who doesn't fit their ideal of white, patriarchal power. There is no doubt that white supremacy and Christian nationalism are alive and well in this county, in this state and all over our country. History is clear that that does not bode well for anyone who is not a white, protestant Christian.

In its ideal form, democracy is a governing system based on the will and consent of the governed, institutions that are accountable to all citizens, adherence to the rule of law, and respect for human rights. It is a network of mutually reinforcing structures in which those exercising power are subject to checks both within and outside the state, for example, from independent courts, an independent press, and civil society. It requires openness to alterations in power, with rival candidates or parties competing fairly to govern for the good of the public as a whole, not just themselves or those who voted for them. It creates a level playing field so that all people, no matter the circumstances of their birth or background, can enjoy the universal human rights to which they are entitled and participate in politics and governance.

Think about how many people around the world and in this country are willing to wait hours, days and sometimes weeks for the right to vote. Think about how much harder those democratic ideals will be to get back if we lose them than it would be to defend them right now.

If you believe that all people, no matter the circumstances of their birth or background, should enjoy the universal human rights to which they are entitled and be able to participate in politics and governance, then vote your values and your vision of what you want the future to look like for your children and grandchildren, not a party.

I'm going to leave you with a quote that I believe is profoundly relevant today…

In Germany they first came for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me…and by that time there was no one left to speak up. –Martin Niemoller

Alicia Edwards

Silver City