Democracy in Action
This past year I watched democracy in action, and it wasn’t always pretty.
About 18 months ago, the school board of Shaker Heights announced a dramatic plan to reshape our school infrastructure. Like many systems in Northeast Ohio, Shaker’s buildings are aging. With the availability of government money it seemed to be the right time to construct new school buildings whilst knocking down old ones that were becoming very expensive to maintain.
The problem was that many of those “obsolete” schools were viewed by their families and alumni as the beating heart of particular neighborhoods, so the first plan – after much back and forth – was tossed out. And now, after many months of work back at the drawing board, we will vote in early November on the revised plan.
As you well know, there are other things on the county-wide ballot that are every bit as consequential as local school plans. In particular, Ohioans will vote on Issue One, which would create an amendment to establish an individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, essentially making abortion legal in the state. The Episcopal Church is opposed to any government action that would infringe upon that right, and Trinity Cathedral was active in the acquisition of signatures to get this on the ballot.
Though I encourage you to vote yes to Issue One, I remind you that this is an encouragement based on the position of the Episcopal Church, not a directive from the pulpit. Though I feel strongly about this particular issue, I firmly believe in the separation of church and state and in each person’s responsibility to become informed about issues and to vote according to one’s conscience.
We vote because it is our responsibility to the common life of our community. I hope that you will not only cast you vote on or before November 7, but that you will encourage others to vote, and that you will speak out against voter suppression in all its forms.
I hope that you when you cast your vote, you will do so with keen awareness of our mutual connections to one another in our city, state, and nation.
