One Life Touches So Many – Please Vote

“One life touches so many others.” Remember Clarence – Frank Capra’s crumpled, humble, guardian angel? That is what he tells Jimmy Stewart’s character, George Bailey, in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”  Now and then, it is good to look around – appreciate how many lives we all touch. In this primary season, that is especially important.

At a recent political event, I looked around and just…marveled. Busy as they were, people came from construction sites, processing plants, truck cabs, and homes to talk about the future. They cared. They asked questions. They identified themselves. We talked about what brought them there.

One was a volunteer firefighter, one a truck driver, one a teacher. One was a young US Marine with his wife, another a 30-year Customs Officer, an electrician, and a radio host. They all cared, all showed up. They are all voting in the State primary on Tuesday. They are worried. Nationwide, the stakes are high.

In Maine, as elsewhere, citizens are speaking up and showing up because America is “at risk,” spending, debt, and property taxes out of control, income taxes and energy costs unsustainable, public schools in free fall, drug traffickers and addiction up, fraud everywhere, and no accountability.

They see the society unravelling – from many different perspectives – the moral fiber needed to “keep the Republic” slipping away, lies spoken boldly instead of truth, political violence spiking.

But there is more, just below the surface, unspoken. This is a community. We are a national collection of communities, people who care about – and rely on – each other. Below the loud, crazy noise of protestors, media, and social media, there is bedrock: people who want better.

Beyond questions and answers, there are solutions. They begin with that caring, recalling an unspoken fact: One life touches so many. In the region where this meeting took place, a fire had recently taken lives; people appreciated the firefighters. The truck driver delivered potatoes, important. The US Marine got applause, and the Customs officer. Even the local radio host was recognized and honored.

Thinking about it, this town in northern Maine was a microcosm of America, still fighting for Frank Capra’s and Jimmy Stewart’s America – but under terrible pressure, refusing to let go of their values.

This has to become the norm again: people fighting for what matters: the values, the future, and each other. Seniors in that room could not afford property taxes and feared loss of their homes. One couple had already lost their home, unable to pay $4000. The young could not afford a home and faced high income taxes. The trucker had registered his cab out of state, wildly cheaper. 

The teacher talked about the need for discipline and accountability. Teachers decried uncontrolled drug addiction, overdoses, poor learning, free needles everywhere, leftist ideology being forced on those who disagreed, or you lose your job. The electrician lamented the loss of trades, the loss of standards.

Together, they were here to speak, listen, and help each other. More power and money for government – by consensus – was not the answer. George Bailey’s “building and loan” was people helping people, not a monopoly held by anyone, Mr. Potter or the Government.

Too often, we are told that whatever the government says goes, politicians rule us. That is utter hogwash. That is not America.  At times like this, we need to remember that all power lies in “We, the People.” We must assert our right to govern or lose our rights, property, and lives.

To do that, we must remember that “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” – all depend on voting. Many lessons flow from “It’s a Wonderful Life” and Jimmy Stewart’s other classic, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” Among them, the importance of stepping up to protect what we love – and “one life touches so many.” Keep these ideals close, act on them, and we reclaim what matters!

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!