By this time in three months it should be more obvious to most Americans what kind of a county they live in and in what direction their country is headed.

Last week in the funeral services for John R. Lewis, one of the true heroes of the fight for human rights for all in the United States, the charge to all who were listening was to answer the call to move forward in creating a society that actually lives up to its word and promise. The response from the Electoral College winner of the 2016 election was a resounding doubt as to whether the country can even hold an election on November 3rd. Never mind that Donald Trump has sworn an oath that entrusts him with the responsibility to see to it that just such an event occurs, and that he should be working mightily in behalf of all for that to come off without a hitch, his trial balloon was a bald admission of the fact that he is not qualified to hold the position, not now and not in 2021. It is unlikely that someone who cannot even manage the United States Postal Service is able to discharge the other more taxing responsibilities of office; we do know, however, that the vote will take place and that it is the duty of the states to count and report honestly and accurately the results. It’s our duty to register and to vote by one of the various methods the law allows. Not to do so would be distinctly unpatriotic.

Moreover, moving beyond patriotism and this year’s vote, now is the time to respond to former President Barack Obama’s clarion cry to advance the cause of democracy through the restoration of the Voting Rights Act, renewed by both Presidents Bush, and  blatantly subverted in the 5-4 Supreme Court decision of Shelby County v. Holder in 2013. With these rights reinsured, the importance of the principle of one person/one vote can be further actualized by passage of the 29th Amendment to the Constitution — the elimination of the Electoral College and the direct election of the President of the United States by a majority of its voters. Improved Democracy should be our goal and the President should be elected by a majority.