This post is about voting, but first I want to talk about writing. They’re related. They’re both about using your voice to make a change.
Stephen King, in his book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, tells readers that if you want to be writer, write a lot and read a lot. So, I do. I read all sorts of books (fiction and non-fiction), articles, poems, essays, news reports, some junk mail, and of course, Peanuts and Garfield.
And I write a lot. I scribble in journals, on paper napkins, and compose on legal pads and on the computer. I began writing in earnest somewhere around 1987 and haven’t stopped. I had an internship at a magazine and even had several good paying, full-time writing jobs. I seem to live in a swirl of words. I write because it’s who I am.
This writing life
One thing I’ve learned as a writer is that a little self-promoting is what writers do, so here you go. On this blog, since 2015 when my website went live, I’ve published a total of 178 posts (that’s about 35 a year).
In 2017, I published a memoir that took more than 10 years to write. I’ve had two flash-fiction stories published, some poetry, and articles about my cult experience.
For the last two and a half years, the Florida Writer Association blog has published 30 blogs I wrote for them about the writing life and the craft of writing. That’s an honor few have. The FWA blog has about 2,000 subscribers.
It’s been an invigorating writing ride, and I’m still on it. Currently, I’m pecking away on a travel memoir: particular moments from a six-country odyssey in 2009 that I experienced with my husband, Dr. Hoyt Edge.
As citizens of the U.S.A., our passports enabled us to take such a trip without too much red tape. The pandemic surely has changed travel, so everyone’s travel future is anyone’s guess. I’m hoping my travel memoir will give readers a meaningful vicarious experience, not about hotels, tourist sites, and indigenous foods, but unique moments to remember.
Now, let’s segue into voting …
My history with the vote
Like my history with writing, my voting life has been a journey to discover my own voice and use it. Some of you know that for many years (from age 18 to 35) I was enmeshed in a subculture of the U.S.A. that exerted undue influence over every aspect of my life. I now view that group as a cult: The Way International™ founded by Victor Paul Wierwille. That’s what my memoir, Undertow, is about. The aspect of that group I want to talk about here is the way we voted and what happened to my voting life after I escaped the group.
I used to vote like my cult leader
It’s no secret today that Wierwille was corrupt in many ways. Some former members like me have evidence of Wierwille’s cavalier and rampant plagiarism that made him a lot of money. We personally know women he sexually abused. We have proof he twisted Scripture to suit his agenda. There’s more bad news about him that, in my view, far outweighs any good he did for some people, but this post is not about that, it’s about voting.
I’m here to tell you that “religious” leaders like Wierwille influence thousands of followers to accept their political views and vote accordingly. To me, that is unethical and breaches the wall between church and state.
If you don’t know already, thousands of Evangelical Christians today supported the current president and will vote for him again. I know, Trump is the farthest thing from a Christian I can think of (maybe) but they love him. They believe he’s fulfilling some kind of warped idea of God’s will on earth. They are a powerhouse of voters.
Like some Evangelicals, Wierwille’s views not only included a Bible-based ideology, but anti-secular, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Semitic (the Jews killed Jesus), and other bigoted views that did not favor the poor or underprivileged. He voted for Nixon and was aghast when he resigned (About 20 of us were in a room with Wierwille watching that moment on T.V.).
To vote after the cult
When I broke the ties that bound me to that cult whose leader, Wierwille, seduced, manipulated, and intimidated us into accepting not only his Bible interpretations but his worldviews and his politics, I felt liberated. Like a freed bird, I flew back to finish my college education. I read and contemplated all sorts of viewpoints about a whole bunch of ideas.
A door had opened for me to reenter the broader society of this nation, and I was deeply grateful. It wasn’t easy to adjust to my regained not-in-a-cult-anymore life, but over time I figured out how I wanted to live and not be told what to do by a narcissistic authoritarian like Wierwille.
What a concept! I rediscovered my civil rights and voted according to my own conscience. I sought advice from people smarter about politics than I was and talked things out. It sounds ridiculous to say all this about my younger self who should have been farther along on the path to adulthood, but it was a very new experience. It was also a great awakening. I woke up to the fact that I was an adult. I had choices to make. I’d rejected the delusional dream of spreading Wierwille’s propaganda over the entire world. Now I had real responsibilities.
Why I vote
It didn’t take me long to find my own voice, to speak and be heard in ways my grandmother and even my mother did not have. The question was: Would I honor it? Would I use it in the voting booth?
Having been a puppet for a cult leader and voting as he wished, I felt duty-bound in my post-cult life to find out about candidates and vote. I paid attention to this country’s past, learning about the high price many activists, both men and women, had paid for me to vote today. Some paid with their lives. Since I am a woman, the sacrifices of the women’s suffrage movement also motivated me to vote.
I knew our political system wasn’t perfect, but our Constitution let me know that living in our imperfect democracy is far better than living under an odious dictatorship.
Vote this time
Speaking of dictatorships, if we’ve been paying attention, we’ve seen many signs of it in our own country under the current president. If who you love tells others a lot about you, then Trump’s love of dictators, like the one in North Korea, tells us there’s something dangerous going on. I never thought I’d witness this kind of reality, much less write about it. In my view, Trump is a candidate to flee.
Like our country, no candidate is perfect, but if we sit this election out and not vote because our preferred candidate is not running, our missing vote could work to Trump’s advantage. How? I’m no expert, but it seems to me that a missing vote for an imperfect Biden could tip the election. Maybe. Perhaps. But I for one will not take the risk of not voting. Will you?
Some will hold their noses and vote for Biden. Fine. At least do that for all our sakes.
Too much is at stake in this country at this time to not cast our vote against a man who has demolished much of our democracy already and at every opportunity has divided us as a nation. Enough said.
A vote not cast at all is a vote that could have helped make a difference.
If we shrug off our right to vote, we will have to look ourselves in the mirror afterwards. What will we see?
Vote, please
PLEASE vote. Use your voice to speak for decency and democracy.
Some books I recommend reading
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
MFA in a Box: A Why to Write Book by John Rember
Better Than Fiction: True Travel Tales from Great Fiction Writers, edited by Don George. A Lonely Planet publication.
Understanding Ignorance: The Surprising Impact of What We Don’t Know by Daniel R. DeNicola
The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American by Andrew L. Seidel
Thanks for reading.
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
Rob Ruff
Thank you for writing his, Charlene. Vote, yes, but never has it been more important than in this election to protect the vote. Be vigilant and speak up when anyone says or does anything that may jeopardize the true outcome. While we can’t do anything now about the electoral college, we can stop or at least do our best to minimize voter suppression in all its forms: Post Office cuts, paper ballot shenanigans by election officials, state legislature voter suppression bills, and good old fashioned voter intimidation. The stakes are way too high this time to do otherwise.
Charlene L. Edge
Thank you, Rob, for shining a light on this part of the voting issue. It’s a VERY urgent message.
Nylda Dieppa
Charlene, this is such an important message and so eloquently expresed it needs to go viral! I hope you’re reposting it all over the world. I’m going to share it on Facebook myself.
Thanks for using your steady and powerful voice to protect our democracy.
Charlene Edge
Thanks, Nylda.
Cindi Rudes
I am also an X-Way International follower. I left in ’95. I’ve read your book and learned alot from it about the “back” side of the Way that I didn’t know. I’ve followed you since I got the book, until now. I cannot believe you could possibly suggest that your readers actually vote for Joe Biden. If you felt like a manipulated person in the Way, you should see that Biden is just a pawn for the radical left people that want nothing more than to destroy America & turn it into another socialist failure.
As for supporting Trump… yes I do. I don’t look at the man’s past unless his current activities indicate a problem. God forgave me for my past, I’m certain He could forgive Trump for his past. I see a man that is swimming upstream, trying to work for Americans, and being fought every every step of the way. It’s one thing to suggest to your readers to be sure & study the candidates & vote their own heart/mind. It’s another thing to tell your readers WHO to vote for. That is no better than Wierwille was. I’m not saying people should vote for Trump, but that they should study the CURRENT activities of BOTH candidates before deciding. Yes, I decided to vote Trump, you have decided to vote Biden. Leave it there, don’t push your vote on others. You obviously see an America that I, and most of the people I know, don’t. The division I’ve seen has not come from our president, but from the hostile people trying to take him down. I’m thankful that I see a better picture than you do.
Charlene Edge
Cindi, I’ll let your comment appear here for readers to see another point of view.
Charlene L. Edge
Cindi, I invite you to read Kathleen’s response to your comment. Please try and keep an open mind.
Kathleen Brandt
Cindi, you make a number of points that I disagree with, but which I won’t get into except to suggest that you try giving an honest listen to sources of information NOT completely supportive of the president. There is darker side to Donald Trump, just like there was with VPW, and you seem to be missing it.
The point I would like to make, however, is this: to equate Charlene voicing support for Biden in her personal blog with VPW telling his followers whom to vote for is what is known as ‘false equivalence’. He was a religious leader with a tremendous amount of sway over his followers; she is a private individual who writes a blog about her experiences, opinions, etc. for whomever wants to read it. There is no comparison between the two. To say that she is ‘no better than’ he was is not only unkind but completely untrue.
Charlene L. Edge
Kathleen, I very much appreciate your getting into this conversation. I wish more folks were as considerate and to the point.
Charlene L. Edge
Thanks for this cogent reply to Cindi, Kathleen. If only folks would calm down and think! I love the “false equivalence” point. Will remember that one!
Cheers,
Charlene
Steve
I’ll echo Rob’s and Nylda’s comments and say a hearty AMEN to Charlene’s blog post.
We CAN strengthen our institutions and electoral infrastructure. For anyone wanting ideas on how and where to start, you can find an excellent beginning to-do list on Teri Kanefield’s blog, at https://terikanefield-blog.com/things-to-do/
Charlene Edge
Thanks for reading, Steve.
John Windham
Some 40 years past I worked on a thesis about Wierwille’s teachings. I didn’t finish, partly because I knew what real scissors and paste meant. I also thought, in the end, that Wierwille would not be taken seriously anyway, and that I would not be able to help a close friend in the Way through my efforts.
I suppose that most folks will hold their nose this year when they vote, but there are cultic responses and attitudes all across the political map. I’m still a Christian and am sensitive to the plight of Christians around the world–a story that does not make headlines so much.
I recently have read your story and it was enlightening. I can almost feel the pain you must have as a result. I think of a pendulum swinging so far and cultists on one end gabbing it and not letting go. Would that cultists on the other side would not grab it when the former let go.
Charlene Edge
Hi, John. I appreciate your comments and thank you for reading my story!
Pat Pergrem Thompson
Charlene,
Thank you for this blog post. It is intelligent, well written and hopefully, will be far reaching. You have learned from your past and are moving forward beautifully. So interesting how Evangelistic Christians have become like cultists. I was raised, like Hoyt, to be extremely independent thinking inside and outside our denomination and to know that to follow the words and deeds of Jesus was all we should need to live peacefully together and love each other in this world. But it also is why I left that denomination when I felt they stopped being able to do that anymore and became one of those cults. I have been searching for the same kind of community our families had then without the prejudice, ignorance and intolerance that has become of it.
I have never met you, but I’ve known Hoyt for the majority of my life and want to tell you how happy I am for him that he found you.
Charlene L. Edge
Hi Pat.
Thank you so much for your kind words. I’ve known about you, too, for as long as I’ve been with Hoyt.
Warmest regards,
Charlene