Why I Voted Early in this Year’s Election.
The Original Star Spangled Banner arrived at the Smithsonian Institution in 1907.
I voted early this year. I did so because it matters.
On the evening of August 24, 1814, British troops set fire to the U.S. Capitol, President James Monroe’s mansion, and the Treasury Department building. On September 13, 1814, British warships sent what seemed like a never-ending barrage of shells and rockets on Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor. For 25 unabated hours, the relentless bombardment hailed destruction on the fort and its defenders.
Francis Scott Key, a 35-year-old lawyer, witnessed the entire cannonade. “It seemed as though mother earth had opened and was vomiting shot and shell in a sheet of fire and brimstone.” Given the scope and scale of the attack, he was certain the British would win. But at dawn, to his surprise, a British Union Jack did not fly over the fort but the American flag.
And now, before every major sporting event in our nation, what do we sing? We declare the words penned by Key on the back of a letter as he watched the large American flag fly high over Fort McHenry that smoky morning.
O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bomb bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there,
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave
Women at work repairing the Star-Spangled Banner on a set of makeshift tables in the Smithsonian Castle in 1914.
I voted early this year. I did so for a personal cause.
While standing in a line snaking around the building, my husband initiated a conversation with the woman standing next to him. A button on her lapel broadcasted her political preference, opposite to his. Soon the three of us passed the time with purpose – telling stories about our kids, commenting on the places we have lived and why we enjoy Texas.
Reaching a lull in the conversation, he made this observation. “Do you realize how many people around the world would give anything to do what we are doing today?” I knew he spoke from experience.
He’s traveled to 21 nations. He’s been greeted with open arms. He’s been interrogated at gunpoint. He’s breezed through customs and been detained at the Laotian border. The driver, hurrying to make the 5:00 PM border closure, struck a motor scooter. Had the bus arrived three minutes later, he and his interpreter would have spent the night in jail. “Not the kind of place you want to be,” he was told. Later he explained, “Remember, this was in the 90’s. Laos was a closed/controlled nation. However, the daughter of a General was on our bus. She made a phone call. The next thing I knew, we received a military escort.”
And then there was a harrowing trip to Pakistan. Due to political turmoil, he had to change flights from Katmandu, Nepal to Karachi.
“Upon landing, the pilot shut the engines down on the tarmac, distanced from other planes. Soldiers surrounded us. Passengers disembarked one at a time. Once my feet hit the asphalt, two soldiers pointed submachine guns at me and escorted me to the terminal. At customs, I identified my luggage. An agent combed my suitcase and confiscated everything he pleased. The loaded guns encouraged me to remain silent.”
“Finally cleared, my traveling companion hailed a cab. We drove directly to our hotel located within the barbed wire-fenced perimeter of the Jinnah International Airport. At mid-afternoon, we heard gunshots. The manager called, ‘Stay in your room, lock the door. Do not leave. If necessary, bar the door with your beds. There are gunmen in the lobby.’”
“After dark, a driver and car arrived to take us to an underground church meeting across town. On the way, he avoided a checkpoint but accidentally hit a pedestrian. A mob surrounded our car. ‘Look straight ahead, do not look down, and do not make eye contact. Our driver will do his best.’ Nearly an hour later we drove away.”
“Three days later, after teaching in the morning session, I took a casual stroll around the building. In the distance, I noticed a man staring me down. He briskly made his way to where I stood. ‘Who are you? What are you doing here?’ My answers failed to appease him. ‘You will give me everything you have and leave now. If not, I will return with my friends. We will burn the building down with all of you inside.’”
Ed’s return flight home was delayed over twelve hours. Upon clearing customs at LAX, he explained, “For the first time in a month I relaxed. No looking over my shoulder. No taking bearings – where am I? Who’s around me? Is anyone following us? Does the driver have an alternative route in mind?”
No wonder, standing in line to vote this last week he simply stated, “Do you realize how many people in the world would give anything to do what we are doing today?”