Life: an adventure, a journey with Jesus!
Election Day
There are very important elections coming up in the states and I thought of all the campaigning that must be going on back there. The hundreds of thousands of dollars involved, promises being made, people taking a stand and speaking out, all culminating in early November when each registered adult has the opportunity to cast their vote.
As election day here in Peru approaches we see candidates’ signs, hear cars with bullhorns spreading campaign promises, and observe sidewalk booths available to share information with passersby. Much the same as you would see and hear in the states. We don’t understand it all, but we have been watching with curiosity as each week there appears to be more of the above happening. We found out that election day is Sunday, October 3rd. And, how did we come to that conclusion? Because we learned that there are no public gatherings allowed. Therefore church services are illegal! Our home church will have Saturday services on the second of the month.
As in most all elections, there are those who strongly defend a position or candidate and those who don’t seem to care. Maybe it’s because we are in our own world (English speaking) and are not voters, but there appears to be a keen interest but not a large percentage of people show up at the political rallies that are held on the sidewalks. The candidates’ supporters are usually handing out flyers and balloons, having drawings of some sort for prizes, and trying to draw in those who maybe in the immediate area. But these rallies have had fewer than 50 people at them when we have seen them. I’m sure in the larger cities, it may be different.
We also learned from our Peruvian friends that it is mandatory that everyone age 17-70 vote. They have a DNI card with a number on it and that is tracked to make sure everyone gets out and casts their vote. Those who choose not to vote can be fined by the government. Now I don’t know if they are fined, how much the fine is, or how the government goes about collecting the fines, but non-voters may very well be facing that fee in the days following the election. We’ve been warned that bus transportation is a challenge. Seems as though there is quite a commotion on this particular day every four years! We just might be spending the day at home.
It makes me think of the story of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke we read about it in the second chapter….
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to
Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
I find it very interesting that all of life today, here and now, makes me think of some scripture passage, or story that I’ve learned in the past. The only similarity in the elections in Peru and the days of Caesar Augustus is that “everyone went to his own town to register”. But I cannot help but wonder what it was like for Joseph and Mary. So it is there, thinking about them, that I leave you with your own thoughts today.
Well, election day has come and gone and from our observance and limited knowledge, it is a day of mass confusion. The reason? The government assigns your voting location and it can be miles from your home. Not only that, all members of the same household do not necessarily vote in the same place. The Ali family, our friends, has three members of voting age in their household, and as I said earlier, they were all heading in different directions to fulfill their civic responsibility. The public schools are used for voting so the roads for several blocks approaching the schools are congested. Taxis, motorcars, busses and people on foot cannot make any headway, because the congestion is so bad. Motorcars were seen driving down the wrong side of the street, on sidewalks, etc. Don went out to the corner to see what all the congestion ‘really’ looked like and people asked him for directions! It was later explained to us that they probably were not from this neighborhood and were just here to vote. It takes literally 3-4 hours to leave home, arrive at your voting location and return home. And, everyone is doing the same thing on this particular Sunday. We also learned that the schools close the doors at 4:00 p.m. Finally, it takes a full week or longer to hand count the votes cast. They do not have electronic equipment for voting.
