Voting – Week 44 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Passionate Voting

Voters generally fall into two categories: habitual voters consistently vote in every election out of a sense of patriotic duty; others vote because they are motivated by a particular candidate or issue – their voting may be more emotional and they may believe that their vote truly makes a difference.

My father was a habitual voter. He was a lifelong democrat because he believed that this was the party of the working class. He also believed in the 1960 party platform which stated the importance of “the creation of an enduring peace in which the universal values of human dignity, truth, and justice under law are finally secured for all men everywhere on earth. If America is to work effectively for such a peace, we must first restore our national strength-military, political, economic, and moral (“1960 Democratic Party Platform”).”

My mother, on the other hand, was more of an emotional voter. The first time that this was truly an issue for her was the 1960 presidential election.

John F. Kennedy was the democratic nominee in 1960. While my mother supported the democratic party, she could not support Kennedy because he was Catholic. My mother had conflicting feelings about Catholicism. She had been raised Catholic, though since they moved frequently I’m not sure how regular their church attendance was. At this point in time, my parents had changed their church affiliation to Church of Christ.

My mother wholeheartedly agreed with this statement by Shaun Casey, “The argument was, when push came to shove, a president who was Roman Catholic would ultimately be more loyal to the Vatican because the fate of his eternal soul was at stake (Roos).” My mother believed that he would not only be the leader of our nation but would hold loyalty to the Vatican and not necessarily put the American people first.

Kennedy received much criticism on this issue and worked hard to overcome it. He appeared on live TV and gave a speech which addressed this very concern. He stated, “Contrary to common newspaper usage, I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my church on public matters, and the church does not speak for me (Roos).”

Another very emotional election was the 2020 presidential election. My mother had very strong feelings against Donald Trump. By this time, my mother had several health issues and was no longer able to drive. The COVID-19 pandemic complicated matters. Since my mother was home all the time, she watched the news several hours a day and developed very forceful opinions. My mother made the effort to request an absentee ballot and checked that her driver’s license number was still valid. She did not let anything stop her from doing what she believed was right.

For many, voting is a civic duty, but ultimately my mother always voted her conscience.

References

“1960 Democratic Party Platform.” 1960 Democratic Party Platform | The American Presidency Project, The American Presidency Project, 11 July 1960, https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/1960-democratic-party-platform.

Roos, Dave. “How John F. Kennedy Overcame Anti-Catholic Bias to Win the Presidency.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 20 Nov. 2019, https://www.history.com/news/jfk-catholic-president.

Suttie Jill Suttie Jill Suttie, Jill. “The Emotions That Make You Decide to Vote.” Greater Good, Greater Good Magazine, https://www.greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_emotions_that_make_you_decide_to_vote.