by Dr. Alveda King
We are now in the throes of casting votes in the 2022 midterm elections. My mother, Mrs. Naomi Ruth Barber King, widow of my father, famed slain civil rights activist Rev. A. D. King, and I voted early. We are overjoyed to see voter turnout breaking records across the nation.
I am particularly excited that my state, Georgia, may see the most significant percentage of voter turnout in modern history. Almost a third of those casting early ballots are Black.
We are also seeing a significant number of new voters who registered in 2022. The successful early voter turnout should allay fears of voter suppression. However, because I believe that America's long experiment in democracy must be protected, this election cycle, I joined the Fannie Lou Project, Protect Vulnerable Voters, and other efforts to support poll watcher training.
At America First Policy Institute, where I am Chairman of the Center for The American Dream, I've joined Ken Blackwell, who is Chairman of the AFPI Center for Election Integrity, and indeed the AFPI community in helping to make it "easy to vote and hard to cheat."
We want every eligible citizen to cast a ballot. Voting is personal to me in a way that many other American family experiences have experienced in our turbulent pasts. Unfortunately, far too many members of my family and loved ones have been martyred for freedom in America.
My uncle Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., my father, Rev. A.D. King, and my grandmother Mrs. Alberta Williams King lost their lives because of their work in the Civil Rights movement; and their unwillingness to be silent about the most basic tenants of freedom.
Between 2007 and 2008, during a season of prayer and consecration, I embraced my Uncle M. L.'s political perspective regarding party politics.
In 1958, my uncle said, "I don't think the Republican party is a party full of the almighty God, nor is the Democratic party. They both have weaknesses ... And I'm not inextricably bound to either party.”
From 2008 forward, I ceased endorsing political candidates. However, with God's guidance, I continue to make it a practice to pray for candidates. I also, of course, pray for all elected officials and leaders as 1 Timothy 2:1–4 calls us to do.
While I no longer endorse candidates, I do advocate for policies in favor of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But, unfortunately, in doing so, I find favor and scorn from both parties.
If certain policies do not line up with what God is calling me to do, I will not co-sign them. The late Congressman William Clay paraphrased Henry Kissinger and once said, "This is quite a game, politics. There are no permanent enemies and no permanent friends, only permanent interests."
As a Christian, my permanent interests are those outlined by God. God calls us to have abundant life. So my interests are rooted in respecting and protecting life from the womb to the tomb into eternity. I know that families strive and can enjoy abundant life when the economy is strong, crime does not destroy communities, parents are able to provide a good education for their children, and we respect every ethnicity as members of the one-blood human race.
On November 8, I encourage you to join me; we should never vote against human dignity, even in the face of self-interests. I will not allow my loyalty to one political party to blind me to the policies that support my faith, hope and love; for myself and all of humanity. I will never be blind again; not color blind; not blind to justice. I will see all human beings as God's creations, in need of love and human dignity.
Prayerfully, as we see Thanksgiving and Christmas just beyond the midterms, America's eyes, ears and hearts will turn to God for healing and mending broken dreams. Meanwhile, "choose" life, not just for yourself, but for everyone.
About Dr. Alveda King: Dr. King is the daughter of the late slain civil rights activist, Rev. A. D. King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a Christian evangelist. She is the author of the best sellers King Rules, and We're Not Colorblind. She is also the founder of Speak for Life, Chairman of the Center for The American Dream -AFPI, and currently serves as a Fox News Channel contributor and is the host of "Alveda King's House" on Fox Nation and a NEWSMAX opinion contributor. Dr. King is also a former Georgia state legislator, college professor, a twice-assigned presidential appointee, and a 2021 recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award.
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