Janese Johnson

Life without watching regular T.V. has helped me maintain a more positive view of politics during this primary. I do get my news online so I have heard about the negative ads and sound bites running over and over again like a gerbil on a wheel. So with my rose-colored glasses still on a bit, I would like to share with you some situations in this recent North Carolina primary that have inspired me and helped me to see the beauty in this long-drawn-out nomination process.

I love the one-stop early voting because it makes voting easy. It leaves the Election Day open for volunteering at the polls. This time was quite special because my father and two of my daughters have been following the election quite closely. We all went together and voted at the same time. It was a special moment to have each of us in our booth side by side at the same time, even if we all did not vote for the same candidate.

On the day of the N.C. primary election, I passed out candidate information over at the West Asheville Library. It was wonderful to see so many people of different genders, races and ages coming with so much excitement to vote. The richness and uniqueness of this experience I will always treasure. It was an inspiration to see the level of personal pride that so many people felt about the candidate they were choosing.

An elderly woman in her 80s was dropped off close to where we were standing. She had a walker and proudly wore her Hillary Clinton button on her blouse. I could see how excited she was that this day was the first day in her life that she could vote for a woman for president. The possibility had never been a reality in her life until this day. She was obviously quite touched to be a part of this historic election. She walked proudly to cast her very important vote that told the world that women are now considered equal in the world because they can run for president and be taken seriously.

A young volunteer brought many cars full of lower-income African-Americans to vote a few times through the day. Many of them ran to the polls with an enthusiasm that shouted to the world that they finally have someone to vote for who can relate to some of their struggles. They asked a lot of questions, and were really interested in voting. For many of them it was their first time.

A young boy around four years old walked with them saying out loud and giggling, “I am voting for Barack Obama!” His life will forever be changed because now he knows that he, as an African-American boy, can do anything he wants to do, and be taken seriously. Those with him bore a dignity and strength that they now felt that they could rise above the oppression that had affected their lives for so long.

One young couple came by, and said with smiles on their faces that they were excited because this was the first primary in which they believed that their vote would matter. They felt that they were making a difference on this very important day. To be a part of a democratic process and be heard was something that mattered to them. They believed that their candidate has a larger vision for the future of all, and they were thrilled that someone represented the bigger picture, and the better future for their children.

The Democrats weren’t the only ones with excitement bubbling out of them. The Republicans were very excited about the governor’s race that was happening. There were a few Ron Paul supporters that wanted to have their voices heard in order to show others that their candidate was equally important for them, and they were not going to settle for Senator McCain. One man rode his bicycle down the street with a huge Ron Paul sign on it that kept knocking his bicycle down, but he proudly picked up his bike and kept riding because he has a candidate that he believes in.

No matter what party or candidate someone wanted, the excitement from everyone was there. Many people have said that this long process is hurting the Democratic Party by splitting it up into two camps. I hope this is not true because the empowering experience for so many people to have their vote count could very well outweigh the negatives of the lengthy process. I believe it is the negative bashing and amount of money that is being dumped into negative bashing that is creating most of the strife in this campaign.

That is something that we can have control over. Whether it is in the primaries or the general election, we can say that we are not interested in negative campaigns. If we turn off the T.V. during those ads or write to the station, we can have a positive impact not only on this election process, but on future ones as well.
Politics will only continue to be negative if we do not change our response to it.

Together we can truly help change the ways that politicians communicate with us by not tolerating anything less than honesty and respect.
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Janese Johnson has been doing intuitive counseling nationally for more than 20 years. She may be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .