Joan Martin
Since our retirement 5 years ago, as you likely know, Mike and I have been fortunate to travel extensively at home and abroad. On our journeys we have met fellow Americans from all over the US, and though we personally don't ever choose to bring up "hot button topics" like politics or religion, we are sometimes confronted with viewpoints that are so very contrary to ours that we are caused to really look at the source of own values and beliefs - for our own viewpoints are, in fact, based on these.

And while even at home in Colorado, we as friends, colleagues, or acquaintances don't typically talk about our most personal stories, I would like to share mine with you, since it explains why this election is so important to me and why I have worked in support of Barack Obama through the Women's Voting Circles.

I am the child of immigrant parents: my dad came through Ellis Island, after traveling in steerage on a steamship in the 1920's, and my mother was born soon after her parents arrived from war-torn Europe. While neither of my parents grew up speaking English and neither graduated from high school, they had big dreams for life in America and high hopes for their children. But, most importantly what they taught us kids was a profound belief in the principles of democracy and great pride in being an American citizen. These core values are at the heart of who I am today.

As I look back on my life now from the perspective of a retired person, I see that I have lived out the dreams my parents had for me so long ago, and I truly appreciate the opportunities that have been open to me in our unique land. Though money was always scarce in my childhood home, through scholarships and part-time jobs I was able to complete college and go on to teach, raise a family and retire with relative financial security (or at least until recent days).

Sadly now, because of our nation's actions abroad and conditions at home, I do not feel that great pride in America that my parents once instilled in me. And worse, democracy itself seems to have been hijacked to benefit the favored few rather than to protect the rights of all people, as our forefathers promised. Even our American flag is being wrapped around values and attitudes that would make the framers of our precious Constitution turn over in their graves.

In short, it seems to me that the light of Lady Liberty that once greeted my parents in New York harbor has dimmed and is flickering. It is up to us as citizens to reassert ourselves in the belief that government can serve us honorably, and that democracy is a gift that should not be taken for granted. I denounce attack ads and robo calls that seek to make me to fear my fellow Americans because of the color of their skin or their religious affiliation, or to convince me that we are a people irreparably divided. To foster such fear and divisiveness at a time when our country needs leadership and vision is, to my mind, a form of terrorism that we cannot abide.

I find it ironic that at another time in our nation's history when we were deeply divided, north against south, a Constitutional lawyer, like Barack Obama, who also became a senator from Illinois, came forward to lead our country out of slavery and a bloody war. Like Lincoln, Barack Obama is dedicated to the principles of the American Constitution, and as General Colin Powell said so poignantly, has all the characteristics to be an "exceptional President". I would add to that, a President who would work for the good of all Americans–not just those, like myself, who support him now.

Because this election is so very important, I urge you to vote for Barack Obama. If my story resonates with you, please pass it along to your friends OR write your own story and send it out. Also, please call and talk to me about the Women's Voting Circles - join me in asserting your voice as a citizen. Bottom line: VOTE and think about your own story and the beliefs and values that underlie who you are as an American. I firmly respect your right to be "with me or against me" – that's what democracy is all about—it need not divide us as people.