It has been said that Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are the two most disliked candidates in history.

I can see that. What I see beyond that, beyond the obvious, that concerns me more than who has done or said what, is that so many people are voting out of spite for the other candidate.

So many people are voting out of fear, dislike, or even hate. They are not voting from a place of love and that collective energy is building and will push us in the direction the majority of us fear most.

Our words carry weight, our thoughts carry energy that is easily realized. If we as a collective people affirm every day that our country is going to hell in a handbasket, it most certainly will. Our words carry little impact if our emotions do not stand behind them. It’s like paint with no primer—it won’t stick. It’s like fearing being late for work, and then being late for work, despite your best efforts to arrive on time. The difference is where we focus our thoughts and emotions. Our will and attempts to create what we desire may give way to our heart’s deepest feelings, good or bad, if our feelings are in opposition to our verbalized desires.

I almost voted out of fear, too, during the preliminaries. I truly felt Bernie Sanders was what our country needed yet I almost voted for Hillary because I was afraid of Trump’s reign over the United States of America.

I would consider myself an average American in terms of my knowledge and understanding of politics. I’ve researched various candidates, compared their views, watched videos, and asked general questions to those more knowledgeable than myself. I’ve spent more time this year researching than any years prior and mourned with 12 million plus fellow Americans as I felt the Bern fade from the democratic nomination.

A little salty and in-love with a woman who detested Hillary as much as I detested Trump, my wife and I made a pact to not vote at all, as we would simply cancel out each other’s choice for the next president—but it wasn’t long before I realized that that didn’t sit right with me either. I couldn’t stand idly by—voiceless, stagnant, and resentful—and allow that energy to gather collectively with an already hate-battered and ignorant-filled  race.

I didn’t want to choose between the lesser of two evils. And, like many Americans being focused on the Republican and Democratic candidates, I momentarily forgot there were other choices. I knew there were a couple of parties—which I couldn’t even name—that usually tagged along on the end of the ballot that may be worth the investigating. I found myself spending the rest of the day on and off the best comparison website I’ve found to date.

I was amazed to see the number of candidates, some not available on all ballots in all states, others as write-in only’s, but options. Options! It was a breath of fresh air.

Up until election day, I will continue to research various candidates and then vote for the person I feel would be the best for our country. I will do this despite overwhelming odds, some might even say a guarantee that my chosen candidate would not “win.”

But that’s okay.

What’s important to me at this point is shifting the energy of this election to a more positive one. What’s important to me is making an educated decision rooted in a place of love.

I believe in democracy. I believe in the goodness of people and the world. I will not operate from a place of fear and fuel this raging fire that has swept across our 2016 election. I encourage others to do the same. Let’s cast our vote from a place of honesty, confidence, and love; not out of fear. Collective energy is a real thing. Fear and hate are an absence of love just as cold is an absence of heat. One cannot exist in the presence of the other.

The last question of tonight’s presidential debate was “can you name one positive thing you respect in one another?” On hearing this, I actually clapped loudly, even though I was sitting alone on my couch.

My heart filled with hope; I felt love, still present, still moving.

And that is what my vote will reflect.

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Author: Dorothy Fuller (Hollingsworth)

Image: KAZ Vorpal at Flickr 

Editor: Renée Picard

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