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Im a lifestyle columnist who promotes optimism and positivity in our daily lives. Im not a political pundit. Occasionally, a subject arises that connects the two areas of positivity and politics, and I feel its important to address. We have a problem.

Depending on which poll you believe, almost 40 percent of all Americans believe our recent election was either dishonestly counted or was unfair, while 77 percent of Republican voters say their candidate was fraudulently defeated. There has never been so much distrust in our voting system.

Former U.S. Congressman and retired Army Lt. Colonel, Allen West is now floating the idea of secession for those states who feel election laws were broken to elect Joe Biden.

This was an unprecedented election, with new rules and extreme methods, designed to accommodate voters due to our current COVID-19 pandemic. Former President Jimmy Carter, a longtime global advocate and judge for free elections, a Democrat, says that mail-in ballots are wrought with the opportunity for fraud. Never in our history have we had the massive number of vote-by-mail ballots as we did in this 2020 election.

The beacon of democracy? The Land of the Free and Home of (because) of the Brave now floating a break-up of our union?

Yes. I believe our union is at risk, but let me be clear: I do not advocate overturning the recent election. I accept the results based upon the election rules that were in place. The problem I see, and it should disturb both sides, is that the looseness of rules, methods, techniques, and monitoring of the last election places our democracy at risk. This isnt about Trump or Biden. This is about election security. We can and must do better.

You may say Allen West isnt representative of most voters on the right, but Id say you may be wrong. This shouldnt be a left or right issue, its an American issue. We should be united in preserving the integrity of our elections.

Im born and raised in Illinois and for as long as I can remember, there has been, and continues to be, a desire for the Illinois outside of Chicago to separate from the Windy City. The Chicago machine rules Illinois with an iron fist and has for almost 100 years. Look no further than the 1960 presidential election if you want to understand the power of the machine and how a small dishonest group can impact an entire nation.

There has been a movement over the last few years for the vast expanses of red California to break away from the influence and control of blue Los Angeles and San Francisco. And red Western Washington and Oregon could not be more polarized from their fellow statesmen in Seattle and Portland. They are now discussing breaking away and joining Idaho. Then back to Texas, theres been a group calling themselves the Republic of Texas that has been pushing secession from the U.S. for years. And now a former congressman, retired Lt. Colonel (Army) and head of the GOP in Texas, calling for a discussion of secession.

The secession movement is growing and gaining momentum. Its fueled by a large minority (upward of 40 percent) that believe their candidate was cheated and the rightful winner was denied. Yes, the country is divided almost perfectly down the middle by a different ideology but that alone isnt enough to fuel a dissolution of our union that has lasted since 1776. A lack of trust in our elections ... just might be. If we believe our elections are not honest and fair ... how can we possibly be the Beacon of Democracy? Why should we vote if every legal vote isnt counted? It is a national dilemma.

To those calling for secession, let me remind you how well it worked for our nation last time this idea reared its ugly head. The southern states paid a devastating price, while the whole nation suffered the massive losses of our Civil War. I cannot believe anyone would want to risk a second American Civil War, but there are those who do, and the numbers are growing. Ideology alone will not cause this break-up, but a lack of a reliable, honest, and trustworthy voting system can and maybe will.

If we want to secure our union, we must secure our voting system.

We must show picture identification for many less important reasons in our states and our nation. Whats more important than voting? Picture ID must be shown to vote. And no ... this is not voter suppression but reasonable election security.

Absentee ballots must be used for legitimate reasons for being absent on Election Day and should not be available to the masses because they dont want to vote in person. If you care about the future of your nation, show up at the voting booth, show your ID and vote. How is this asking too much?

Counting of every single vote must be done with poll watchers from each party. Any vote that is illegally counted under the view of only one side must be either thrown out or counted again, with proper witnesses.

As for voting machines and the allegations they are easily open to fraud, I dont know enough to comment, but Ive heard enough to believe they must be examined before they are used again.

Then you have our tech giants who I believe clearly favor one side over another and influence voters by their bias. Why is this allowed and how do we stop this?

Want to preserve our union? Secure our elections. Taking the steps to secure our elections is not voter suppression but election security. Without election security, everything we say we stand for is a lie.

I love my blue friends and love my red friends. If we love our union, we must join hands and engage in election systems we can all trust. The risk of not doing so is unfathomable.

My prayer for our nation this Christmas is that we can come together and reflect the values that have held us together for almost 250 years. If we only agree upon one thing, lets agree that our United States of America is worth preserving and saving. Imagining the world without our influence creates a frightening picture. Lets set aside our political and ideological differences and preserve our nation.

God bless America and may God save and preserve our troubled union.

Gary W. Moore is a freelance columnist, speaker, and author of three books including the award-winning, critically acclaimed, Playing with the Enemy. He can be contacted

through the Daily Journal at

editors@daily-journal.com.

See the article here:
Gary Moore: Are we still a beacon of democracy? - Kankakee Daily Journal