By Kathleen Callard
In the United States, and here in Lee County, it’s easy to lose perspective on how much we rely on things simply working.
A relative of mine lives near Amman, Jordan. Every day, missiles fly overhead—two or three times. So far, they’ve been intercepted, but when fragments fall, his house shakes. Imagine trying to sleep, work, or raise a family under that constant uncertainty.
Now there’s a new problem. Because of an oil shortage, electricity will soon be shut off for six hours a day. How do you keep food from spoiling? How do businesses operate?
It doesn’t stop there. Fuel shortages mean delivery trucks may soon stop running. That raises a basic question: how do people get food, water, and everyday essentials?
It’s a stark reminder that stability—reliable power, functioning supply chains, basic safety—is not guaranteed.
Here in Lee County, we’re not living under those conditions. But that doesn’t mean we’re untouched by them.
We live in an interconnected world. Many of us have friends, family, or roots in other countries. What happens abroad doesn’t stay abroad. Conflict, instability, and economic disruption have a way of rippling outward—affecting markets, migration, national security, and ultimately our daily lives here at home.
No matter how much some may wish for an isolationist world, history shows it doesn’t work that way. The domino effect of war and instability doesn’t stop at borders. It comes home.
That’s why voting matters—not just locally, but globally.
The choices we make at the ballot box shape not only our schools, infrastructure, and local economy here in Lee County, but also the role our country plays in the world. Voters are responsible for those choices, the intended results and the unintended ones.
And those choices have consequences.
Here at home, we’re already navigating challenges: rising housing costs, insurance instability, storm recovery, and debates about how our systems should function—from infrastructure to voting access. These are serious issues, and we don’t have to experience a crisis firsthand to understand their lessons.
We can choose leaders and policies that prioritize stability, cooperation, and a more humane approach—both at home and in how we engage with the world.
The question for us in Lee County isn’t just whether we’ll vote.
It’s what kind of consequences we’re willing to accept—and whether we’re ready to make a safer, more thoughtful choice while we still can.