Here come the General Election in November. Major races include the contest for Governor of Texas, Attorney General and a whole host of down ballot candidates. The air waves and social media will be lit up with the candidates asking for your vote. Millions of dollars have been spent to get your attention. And so on November 8th 2022, it come down to you, the voter. Are you going to turn out and vote? Do you think your vote can make a difference? There are many examples of candidates winning by one vote. Don’t let Travis County be in the news as one of those places where one vote made all the difference in the world.
On a different note, as you will see when you go through this newspaper, The Texas Book Festival in returning to Austin, Texas. Thousands of people will come from all over to see and listen to book authors talk about their latest book. Sometimes we don’t realize how fortunate we are to live so close to a place where there is so much going on. If you can, make the time to attend the Texas Book Festival. Buy a book and discover how words on a page can take you to places you never imagined.
My last thought. As some of you may know, I grew up in Uvalde, Texas. What took place there on May 24th, will never be forgotten. The people of Uvalde are struggling with how to heal from such a terrible event. For some, it will take years and for other, they will never forget. How does one forget a child they raised? How does one forget a child who you had dreams for as they were growing up?
Out of this tragedy in Uvalde has come an awakening by a generation of young parents who are realizing that justice is something that you have to demand. No one is going to do right by you unless you demand it. Uvalde is a place to keep your eye in the coming months and years for you are going to see a new generation of community activist who have learned how to stand up and speak out.
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Copyright 2022 by Alfredo Santos. Photos used in this post are in the public domain.