On Election Day, I Offer A Travel Promise

I think it’s often interesting to look back on our musings to see what we have learned or what has changed. Below is an essay I wrote on the day of the 2020 election. One of the candidates is different this time and thankfully, the pandemic is over, but my thoughts remain largely unchanged…perhaps I’m just hopelessly and foolishly optimistic about the United States. Even so, I’m in Pittsburgh (ground zero of this election, it seems) and will be watching returns closely this evening. Whoever the winner is, I will be in Washington, DC for the inauguration in January; the smooth transition of power (hopefully far smoother this time…) is a hallmark of American strength and stability. -Matthew

This story ran on November 3, 2020–the last presidential election in the USA.

It’s Election Day in the United States. As early as tonight we may know who the president will be for the next four years. And whoever that man is, I offer a travel promise today.

Election Day Travel Promise: Whoever Wins, I’ll Be There In January*…

For months, I’ve read–sometimes with interest, other times with amusement, sometimes with sadness–the political sniping that has taken place in the comments section of Live and Let’s Fly. Thousands of exchanges have demonstrated that we are a deeply divided nation and disagree on just about everything.

I’m not going to preach a superficial message of national unity or argue that we have so much in common (though we actually do). I am also not going to say that national healing is just hours away. While I hope this election will not make the 2000 election look civil, even if there is a clear winner by late this evening the open wounds of division will take years to heal, are prone to infection, and may scar in a very unseemly way. Or they may never heal…

My usual pep talk on an Election Day is that travel unifies us and that we should look to travel to bring us together. Not so this year, with much of the world closed to American travelers and the virus   one of the hottest political issues of the day.

So I’ll simply say this. Holding to a tradition I have followed the last three administrations, I plan to be in Washington, DC on January 20, 2021 for the inauguration ceremony. Whoever the winner is, I will support and pray for. And while I have strong opinions on a number of issues, just like we all do, I will not forget that this nation is stronger and wiser than its chief executive. May we embrace the truth that this nation is not a man or an ideology, but an unfinished experiment toward a more perfect union.

*virus permitting…I realize there may not be a public inauguration ceremony this year, which would be very sad.

CONCLUSION

I’m reminded of the Declaration of Independence:

…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness…

May we choose wisely.