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With Election Day approaching, I was looking at photos on ABC News' website of early voters and people who have attended the closing rallies of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. The images of individuals actually depict a sense of joyfulness in the midst of what has been one of the most polarizing presidential races in our country's history. The first photo in ABC's list showed a young Gen Z woman from Cincinnati, Ohio, voting for the first time. Other pictures featured fired-up Harris and Trump supporters along with boomer voters in Madison, Wisconsin, casting in-person absentee ballots. The photo of the young Cincinnati woman caused me to reflect on how the political landscape began to change since I voted in my first election back in 1988. Many political science historians point to that presidential race, with Republican candidate George H. W. Bush running against the Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis, as the election that ushered in the racially charged rhetoric that is unfortunately common today. Due to a political action committee running "Weekend Passes," an ad that featured Black Massachusetts prisoner William Horton, Bush was accused of deliberately using the age-old, menacing stereotype of Black men to win Southern votes, even though his campaign did not create the ad. Horton's first name was shortened to "Willie" and the ad charged Dukakis of being soft on crime. The issue of crime was certainly valid since Horton, while released on furlough, raped a White Maryland woman and attacked her boyfriend. However, the threatening images of Horton used in the ads contributed to race-baiting and did not encourage more productive dialogue on better policies to deal with violent offenders.

Now as we are on the cusp of voting for our next president, Trump finds himself at the center of a racist controversy resulting from a joke that comedian Tony Hinchcliffe told at the Madison Square Garden rally. Hinchliffe called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean." Trump did not apologize for Hinchcliffe's comments but did later admit the roast-style comedian should not have been at his event after facing harsh backlash. For Trump critics, this was just another opportunity to pull out the record of insulting things he has said in the past regarding Mexicans and other immigrants of color. Contentious remarks, of course, fall on both sides of the political aisle. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was heavily chastised for saying "you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables" during the 2016 campaign. And most recently, President Joe Biden appeared to clap back, as the kids would say, at Hinchcliffe, stating that "(t)he only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters." The White House immediately tried to clarify Biden's statement by explaining that the president was referring to "hateful rhetoric," but many viewed this as a gaffe that puts Harris in an awkward position.

In thinking back on my first election as a young voter in '88, I did not reflect on political barbs as much as I do now. At 19, I was very optimistic about the political process, and this was due to how I was brought up and taught about the sacrifices those in the civil rights movement made for African Americans to vote. I believed that the ideals of our democracy, if applied justly and fairly despite ongoing racial and equity challenges, would provide all Americans with the opportunity to prosper and succeed. It was definitely youthful exuberance in its purest form. Now, being much older and observing the adverse political narratives today, I vote with a mindset that relies more heavily on my Christian faith. I recall this quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "On some positions, cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' And vanity comes along and asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?'" We all know politicians are not always going to do what is right, which is why Psalm 118:9 will be a key scripture of meditation when I head to the polls. It says, "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes," meaning governing officials. We will continue to deal with bitter, divisive politics after the election, and now, more than ever, I am trusting in God's sovereignty no matter the outcome.

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Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English department at Ohio State University's Lima campus. Email her at smojc.jj@gmail.com. Follow her on X: @JjSmojc. To find out more about Jessica Johnson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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