I’m writing this piece on the Sunday before the election, not knowing the outcome. By the time you read it, you may be celebrating. Or you may be wondering how in the world our country is going to survive.
I think we can agree on one thing: This election cycle has been brutal. Between the TV commercials, the mailers, and the social media messages, it has been hard to sort out the truth.
Too much of it has relied on scare tactics that leave people confused and afraid. More concerningly, it has brought out the worst in many of our friends and neighbors, right here in our communities.
To be clear, I believe strongly that discussion and debate belong in a democracy. We are supposed to disagree, ask hard questions and argue about the direction of our country. But somewhere along the way, we’ve decided that people who vote differently must be bad people.
Bad Americans. Even bad Christians.
How did we get here?
Our government is supposed to work for the people. But politicians have figured out that keeping us angry at one another can keep us from looking too closely at them. While we argue on Facebook and X about socialism and Christian nationalism, who is asking whether the people we elected are actually doing their jobs?
Are our schools getting what they need? Can our families afford to live? Are our rural communities getting stronger? Those questions deserve more attention than who won the latest argument on Facebook.
Many of us may have found ourselves disagreeing with friends and neighbors this year as we made the very personal decision of how to vote. For some, those choices brought criticism, strained friendships and even questions about our faith. That hurts, especially when it comes from people we care about.
But here’s the thing: It should not be this way.
We live in America. We value freedom of speech and the freedom to make up our own minds. Surely that includes the freedom to cast a ballot without having to defend our faith or our place in the community.
Loving God, our families, and our country does not mean we will all vote the same way.
I don’t know how you are feeling as you read this. Maybe your candidates won. Maybe they lost. Maybe, like me, you’re just tired of what this election has done to relationships you thought were stronger than politics.
Either way, we are still Texans and Americans. We still want safe roads, good schools, and thriving communities. We still need our rural hospitals, our farmers and ranchers, our small businesses and one another.
The person you argued with on Facebook may be the same person who shows up when your pasture catches fire, brings dinner when someone in your family is sick, or sits beside you in church on Sunday.
An election should not make us forget that.
I’m not asking anyone to give up what they believe. I’m certainly not giving up what I believe. But we can stop sharing things meant to humiliate our neighbors.
We can ask someone why they voted the way they did and actually listen to the answer. And we can expect whoever won to get to work, then pay attention to whether they do.
Maybe when I read this after the election, I will see things differently. Right now, I’m still a little heartbroken, and I’m worried about how we come back together. I suspect I’m not the only one.
But I also want to thank those of you who faithfully read this column each week. We started in August, a little over a year ago, and I’ve loved sharing what’s on my heart and mind with you.
Some of you agree with me. Some of you let me know, in no uncertain terms, when you don’t. I appreciate that you keep reading and that we keep talking.
No matter what happened Tuesday, we still have a lot to talk about. I’ll keep asking hard questions, sharing what I believe and listening to what you have to say.
God bless rural Texas—it’s the best Texas.
Suzanne Bellsnyder is editor and publisher of the Hansford County Reporter-Statesman and Sherman County Gazette. Subscribe at TexasRuralReporter.Substack.com