A candidate running in a local race is full of it.

I am patient with people, politically speaking.

In my professional and personal circles, I am surrounded by and spend most of my time with people who are voting for the same person I am for President, Kamala Harris.

I have people in my life who are voting for the other candidate (of the two main candidates), and I decided long ago to stay away from them and interact with them as little as possible.

My way of thinking is that the question of who to vote has the clearest answer.

Until last week.

I was at a birthday party for someone I love. I knew most of those there and am close to almost everyone who attended. To give you a better picture of this gathering, almost everyone at the party if a first-generation or second-generation immigrant.

Then a family friend arrived who I know but am not close with. No reason we’re not close, I know him from my work and there hasn’t been a reason to get close.

They also happen to be running for office in a local race.

The family friend greets everyone and then sits at a table, right next to me. They grab a bite to eat and before I know, thanks to one of the family members, a discussion of politics begins.

I let the family friend know that maybe we shouldn’t talk about politics and was ignored. To them, I think, it was fine. And too late as the question was asked.

That question.

“So, who are you voting for?”.

It was implied “for President”.

My body reacted and I became uncomfortable. I don’t know this person well enough to know who they are voting for. It was a fifty/fifty chance. Because they live in a conservative area, I thought again that it was probably a sixty/forty chance that they were not going to vote for who I’m voting for. I was also open to the idea that they could surprise me.

“I don’t know yet”.

Excuse me.

I didn’t know this then, but I was visibly upset. My friends across from me let me know once the person left the table to chat with others.

Their answer enraged me. What the actual %&$&?

What do you mean, you don’t know yet. Are you kidding me?

I would have been much more at ease if they had simply said the name of the other candidate. My thought process was that, although they had not won an election, they were already acting like a politician by not answering.

Other thoughts included the fact that they were lying.

After all, what more do you possibly need to know for you to decide?

I took a few short breaths, trying my best to look normal.

I continued listening, smiling, being kind.

After what seemed an eternity, the guest finally left the table to go chat with others.

That’s when I let my emotions fly.

My friends at the table were laughing. They knew. I typically am one of the most political people in any setting, and they knew that I was stunned (wanting to put an expletive in front of this). I was complemented on how well I behaved.

My writing often includes actions and suggestions about transparency, ethics, and honesty. I urge clients to be this way, and I do my best to live this way.

This person was being none of these things.

You may be thinking, “Perhaps they really don’t know yet?”.

No way. First, because of what I have already written. Second, because they were right next to me, and I just knew they were only attempting to not have to share their choice.

This is the end of my rant.

Except to say that it is vital to share our political opinions, especially now.  Regardless of what is important to you, your family, and to those you love, silence around what is happening right now in this moment will only make things worse.

I realize it’s not always easy, let alone comfortable, to share political beliefs and why one supports a particular candidate. I felt some of that while putting my Harris/Walz sign up in our yard (and I live in California!). I still haven’t put a bumper sticker on my car.

It also may not change minds.

It does, however, let others who are of the same opinion know they are not alone. They may even be encouraged to share their beliefs more often or to order a yard sign or bumper sticker.

And so on. You see where I’m going with this?

Your vote matters. Sharing who you’re voting for and why can be almost as powerful.

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Go vegan. Vote. Be kind.