The very rich are taking far more than their “share” just because they can. This leaves the have-nots enraged and ready to fight for their “share.” Their schools, healthcare, jobs, and infrastructure are often terrible. What choice will they have but to fight in the end?

The biggest challenge to our democracy is hopelessness and cynicism. Being an American citizen – and securing the rights of citizenship – has never been easy for most Americans. Our country was founded and has been inspired for generations by people who fight for radical and broad-minded definitions of equality and liberty. That struggle is our greatest patrimony, but one that can be exhausting and disheartening in the face of oppression and setbacks. Ensuring that American democracy has a bright future requires us to nurture the hope that such a future is possible.

As a historically minded person, each time I consider the importance of voting, I think of the people who struggled, fought, and suffered so that I could have the right to vote – as a propertyless woman who grew up poor. I know that the rights I have today are not givens and they must continue to be remade and won again and again.