Tag: West Virginia

Are US Elections Fair – My day as a poll worker

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Citizens across the country worry about America. Voters wonder if their vote counts. In my admittedly limited time as a poll worker, I believe that it does.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

“Stop the Steal” was a common phrase used by conservatives in the aftermath of the 2020 Presidential Election. Official counts indicated that former Vice President and long-time senator Joe Biden had prevailed over incumbent President Donald Trump. Trump, however, refused to concede the election. His followers peacefully protested, but a few rioted, at the Capitol in Washington DC on 6 January, although claims that this was a coup are overblown.

The election occurred during the greatest pandemic since 1918, COVID-19. As a result, mail-in ballots and non-traditional voting skyrocketed. Safeguards like correcting voter rolls (eliminating ineligible people) and requiring official photo identification were neglected or even opposed. Election laws written for another time were incapable of coping with modern technologies and a global pandemic. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg poured $419 million of his private fortune into mail-in, get-out-the-vote (GOTV), and shadier efforts for the Democratic Party in 2020.[1] Other deep-pocketed influencers did the same. Their money gave the Democrats a huge advantage in the gray zones of elections where laws are opaque and lawyers lurk. Small-time voter fraud occurred, but whether it was widespread enough to change the election is doubtful. We will probably never know for sure.

Concerned about the past and wanting to improve things in the future, I chose to serve as a poll worker in Raleigh County, West Virginia on 5 November 2024. I wanted to see firsthand how my corner of the system worked. To put the bottom line up front, I was encouraged by what I saw.

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How Should I Vote?

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Christians must render unto God what is God’s, but also render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. In our representative democracy, that means that every Christian must vote, and be informed and prayerful. Many will be called to be poll workers, a few activists, and a tiny minority…candidates.

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Primary elections are fast approaching, and the political storms are surging in this presidential election year. West Virginia’s primary elections are on May 14th. Many people are just now beginning to pay attention to the races, and many do not know who they should vote for. National races, like Trump and Biden, swallow up media time and space, and local candidates rarely gain publicity.

For Christians, the question of who to vote for is secondary to the question of why and how to vote. Christ-followers are first citizens of heaven and only second citizens of our earthly nation. Our allegiance lies first with Jesus and only second with the United States (in our case). The direction of believers’ allegiance is not new. Followers of Jesus refused to worship Roman emperors and perform religious duties that would put Rome above God. Often, these Christians were killed for their “disloyalty.” Killing Christians was a bad move for Rome.  Christianity was spreading like wildfire through the Empire regardless of the persecution. Further, the sterile and abortive Romans needed to have their failure to make more Romans offset by the fecund Christians.

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Quality and Political Parties

Uncle Sam asking people to vote
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We demand quality in every aspect of life, from the food we eat to the cars we drive. We demand quality in government as well. But quality in government is not the same as quality in politics. What do we want in politics, and in political parties, and how do we get it?

By Mark Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

Introduction

Quality is the ultimate reason for existence in any organization. It doesn’t matter how many patients a hospital sees, how many widgets a manufacturer makes, or how many planes an airline owns if the patients get sicker, the widgets break, and the planes can’t fly. Doing one task well will get a man a job. Doing 1,000 tasks poorly will not.

Politics is one area in which we probably don’t think enough about quality. What is a quality candidate? What are quality elections? What is the best process to choose between candidates? What should a high-quality campaign look like? Who decides? This article will delve into quality and politics, in the hopes of increasing the quality of our political system.

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Will We Rise Again?

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Jesus Christ rose from the dead, but will we? For a Christian, there is only one answer…YES!

By Mark D, Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

The central tenet of the Christian faith is that Jesus Christ, God the Son and the Son of God, came to earth, lived a perfect life, died to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15). Christians believe this and live their lives as best they can in that faith. Non-Christians do not believe this. Those who do not believe in this simple truth, are not Christians, regardless of what they may say. How can we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ today?

Christ Arose – Low in the Grave He Lay

  1. Low in the grave He lay,
    Jesus, my Savior,
    Waiting the coming day,
    Jesus, my Lord!

    • Refrain:
      Up from the grave He arose,
      With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
      He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
      And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
      He arose! He arose!
      Hallelujah! Christ arose!
  2. Vainly they watch His bed,
    Jesus, my Savior;
    Vainly they seal the dead,
    Jesus, my Lord!
  3. Death cannot keep his Prey,
    Jesus, my Savior.
    He tore the bars away,
    Jesus, my Lord!

Bible Reading – 1 Corinthians 15:50-58

He Lives

Verse 1

I serve a risen Savior,
He’s in the world today;
I know that He is living,
Whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy,
I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him
He’s always near

Chorus
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives:
He lives within my heart.

Verse 2
In all the world around me,
I see His loving care,
And tho my heart grows weary
I never will despair;
I know that He is leading
thru all the stormy blast,
The day of His appearing
will come at last

Chorus
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives:
He lives within my heart.

Verse 3
Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian,
Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to
Jesus Christ the King!
The hope of all who seek Him,
The help of all who find,
None other is so loving,
So good and kind.

Chorus
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way.
He lives, He lives, salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives:
He lives within my heart.

Devotion

Thus reads the French inscription on the tomb of Edward the Black Prince, in Canterbury, England, who died in 1376.

Such as thou art, so once was I. As I am now, so shalt thou be.[1]

Whether written or not, such are the silent words of every man, woman, and child in every cemetery, every mausoleum, and every inch of land and sea in which a mortal has passed into immortality.

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Fire Safety

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Fire is rare, and thankfully getting rarer with advances in technology. When it happens, though, it is devastating. Read the fire safety tips below and implement changes in your home and life. 

By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, ThM, PhD, DBA

The young man stood silent and motionless, holding a baby boy as he stared at the raging fire. The tongues of flame had consumed his garage and everything in it. Now they had jumped to his sport utility vehicle (SUV) parked close by. The single wide mobile home that he and his wife shared with their children stood about ten feet away. Thankfully, his family had escaped uninjured. The siding had been damaged by the heat of the fire, but the house had not caught…yet.

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Message Bearing Marching Bands

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High school marching band shows reflect our priorities and our insanities. How can they help make us better?

By Mark D. Harris

Ours is a marching band family – four of our five children have been in marching bands at the high school and/or college level.  The other one was in the orchestra. Our kids have been at Hayfield and Thomas Jefferson (TJ) High Schools in northern Virginia, Collierville High School in Tennessee, Shady Spring High School in West Virginia, and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. We have enjoyed parades, pep bands, and shows at football halftimes and band competitions. Dance teams, color guards, drum majors, and lines of marching and playing students entertain us every week in every autumn.   

High school marching band shows have themes, ranging from the musical (the Music of Queen), the cinematic (Illusion, including Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory), and the historical (the Transcontinental Railway). Bands compete before judges, who score them on such measures as musicality, marching/dance, visuals, guard, pit, and drumline. At the end of every competition, the band with the highest score in their division wins a trophy. But what do judges find worthy of acclaim? Continue reading “Message Bearing Marching Bands” →