A LETTER TO HAROLD FORD JR.

(copy of an email letter to Harold Ford Jr.)
Dear Mr. Ford,

I am writing you as a concerned resident in Tennessee. I am writing you as a concerned father and husband. I am writing you as an advocate for those who's voices tend to be left out. I am writing as one committed to seeking and imagining alternatives to violence and war. But Mr. Ford, I am first and foremost writing you as a fellow Christian.

I have wrestled, changed my mind, prayed, and even had some very heated discussion on how one ought to vote in this election. There are many reasons why whether I vote for you or not that I would still hope for you to win. The biggest reason being is that with your being elected comes the hope that some real sense of change might be possible. With that said, I can only hope that you will model a different kind of politics than what America has experienced from both the Right and the Left. Mr. Ford, I am going to vote for you in a couple of days, but please know that for me the important task comes after the election. For on Wed. and the days to come you or Mr. Corker (whomever comes out as our new Senator) may see letters with my return address on them. That person may get emails or phone calls from time to time with words of encouragement and words of accountability.

Some of the the things that I might just write about might be things like:
Senator, how are things going? Is there talk in your circles about things like supporting measures that provide for family economic success and security by “making work work,” that promotes fair and decent wages, that show a serious commitment to lifting children out of poverty, and support policies on aid, debt, and trade that would bring extreme global poverty to an end? Senator I do hope you are doing well.

Or I might say, "Senator, I hope you are really committed to a serious plan for ending the war in Iraq, to joining a real national debate on how to remove American forces while seeking both security and peace for Iraq."

I may even say, "Senator, are you seeking creative policies that will dramatically reduce the number of abortions, end capital punishment, and stop genocide, especially in Darfur? Sir, please try your hardest."

These are some of the issues that are affecting many people- not myself as much as many in the world. So Mr. Ford, it is not lightly that I vote on Tuesday, but whatever the outcome- Wednesday the actual "work of the people" begins.

Good luck sir.

Jonathon E. Norman