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37-196 the cash app is dollar sign RM unfiltered PayPal is R Martin unfiltered venmo is RM unfiltered zel is Rolland Rolland Martin.com Hello everyone and welcome to a balanced life with Dr Jackie here at Blackstar Network and you guessed it it is election day across the country everyone is figuring out how they’re going to cast their ballot but let me just say getting to the polls is not always as
Easy as it seems sometimes we’re stressed there’s anxiety trying to discover not only who we’re going to vote for but do we have all the documents the resources have we read the pamphlets do we know what the issues are today our guest Pastor JT Johnson and Dr
Tyrany we’re going to talk about some of the stresses and anxieties and the polarization that is happening around the globe as people are casting their vote but here specifically here in the United States hey everyone hey Dr Jackie hey welcome let me tell you this day is election day and
Some people you know did the thing they voted early I’ve seen stickers on people’s shirts on their handbags on their briefcases people are putting on their social media that they voted they got their cute little Instagram and Facebook frames saying that they have already registered to vote that they
Have gone to the polls and cast their vote Yes And Then There are those people who do by mail they send it in as an absentee valid but then there are the people who are going to get up early in the morning they’re going to stand in
The lines and they’re going to go out there let’s talk a little bit about all the anxiety attached to voting Pastor JT what is it about going to the polls to cast a ballad that literally puts people in a tail spin you know and thank you Dr Jackie
For for having this conversation on this day um because as you mentioned you know this is probably one of the most contentious elections uh that’s happening Nationwide and I think that that anxiety comes just because of the weight of the day uh if you’ve been listening to your news you’ve been
Reading any type of Publications uh probably you have been seeing uh probably unsolicited ads from U certain candidates uh you have been bombarded and two you just have a pulse of what’s going on in society that anxiety rises from day to day to day and then the day
Comes so we’re talking about before you even get to the polling location there is already a significant amount of anxiety that has already built so then when you get to the polling location God forbid if there’s a long line um depending on where you are in the
Country if it’s hot outside if it’s raining if it’s freezing cold um you don’t even know and then not to mention driving up to the polling location and you have 99 people coming trying to give you uh postcards and slicks and pamphlets right there at that time um
Surprisingly nobody just passed out from um information overload so that anxiety um is is an amazing one um but it can um negatively impact the voter especially that voter that does not show up to the polls as an educated prepared voter H an educated prar voter you know you
Mentioned something you know literally I get calls from towns that I didn’t even know existed as we’ve gotten into this election process there’s this bombardment of phone calls you know wanting to share information and you said that information overload Dr Tierney talk to us about that a little
Bit because even in your space and in your state and we know we’ll talk about that a little later you know how states are impacted but talk to us about that inability to manage anxiety and I’m going to give you a one specific question because there are people who do
Have crowd anxiety and you know all of those things so talk to us about that so Al theate what I have to say is no matter which the method that you choose to vote it’s just important that you do vote you know um I have voted early voting absentee ballot um when I
Was in college I I actually like going on the day of because even if it’s a long line just the rush and the buzz that I get from being at a polling station and casting my vote and doing what my ancestors fault to be able to do
It just it invigorates me but that’s not the case for everyone you know and so when we’re talking about managing the information overload or the anxiety that comes with the voting process you have to do what’s best for you so one of the things that I actually like like to do
Um in in the beginning stages where there’s a lot of text messages a lot of information a lot of I tend to kind of put horse blinders on until about a week before I’m getting ready to vote then that’s when I actually pull up the candidates look at each candidate look
At their platforms get the information and choose who I’m voting for so that when I go to this to the polling station I already have a list of who I’m voting for some people it’s it may work for you that you go there that day and as Pastor
JT said get the information right then the handouts and the the pamphlets and kind of make your decision at that point for some people it might be better to do the early voting or the absentee ballot so that way you’re avoiding the crowds you’re getting a jump on everything
You’re getting that information to you early and go ahead and getting it done you know but the main thing is that you have to identify what makes you anxious what makes you to start feel overwhelmed is it the crowds is it the information you know and then picking your method
That best best mitigates that for you mitigating circumstances are always very interesting when it comes to the poll and before we go into our break I want to have a bit of a conversation about these modern-day pole tax methods because individuals who can’t find their social security card people who may have
Moved within the voting period or since they registered individuals who don’t know where their driver’s license heaven forbid you were born before birth certificates and dri’s license wherever a thing how do we help people even in this moment get those documents because this isn’t going to be the last election
That happens there’s quite a few more before we ever get to the presidential election so what should it look like for people in this preparation phase uh Pastor JT right and and big shout out to anybody that’s online now that is motivated to go vote as Dr Jackie said
That was born before driers license and birth certificates because you have been doing this a long time but I will say this um it’s just about having um uh the willingness or I believe the urge uh to want to have your voice heard and knowing as Dr Tierney
Said um all of the fights that happened with our forefathers and our for mothers um who sacrificed for us to be able to go out and vote uh I believe now we have to have that same if not even more um uh push to go out to the polls because to
Your point Dr Jackie there are so many new tactics that are being put in place to suppress our Vote or um uh to maybe um add so many different steps um that we lose the motivation to want to even go out so what I suggest is is to identify what’s needed in
Between election time because often times before you may run into a situation where you don’t even have enough time to get the documents that you need so even if you’re on right now and God forbid you aren’t able to cast your vote in this election because maybe
To Dr Jackie’s point you showed up and you moved and maybe you didn’t update your address information uh or maybe you didn’t bring the proper documentation and then when you get there the line is closed or or it’s done for the day I don’t want you to feel like you won’t
Even pursue it for the next election because one thing that’s going to happen in the United States of America I pray that we continue to be a country that’s based on democracy and if that is the case there will always be elections and there will always be a time for you to
Vote so if by chance there was a piece um of information that you didn’t have there was a certain document that you didn’t have and it prohibited you from being able to vote in this cycle please ensure that that information is in your hands months prior to the next election
So your voice can be heard absolutely Dr Tierney so this is where I have to bring up our good friend Google you know we use Google for everything else so let’s make sure that we’re using Google here when it’s time to go to the polls you
Know just a quick Google as we’ve stated it’s different state by state so just going to Google and you don’t even have to know the website you don’t have to know all the things but just Googling something simple like what do I need to vote in California North Carolina Texas
Or you know wherever you may be and it will pull up all the information for you googling who are the candidates you know in your state and it will pull everything up for you so I don’t want you to feel like this is just an arduous
Task where you have to go through a bunch of changes to find this information or I don’t know the website to go to so I don’t have the information just go to Google type in whatever it is that comes to your mind and I promise you Google will pull it up and the
Information will be right there right there for you absolutely when we come back after the break we’re going to talk for a minute about what’s on your ballot if you are thinking about going to the polls today which we do highly recommend that you get out and cast your vote it
Is your right and your voice matters you can go to vote411.org that is vote 41 1.org to find out what’s at stake in your state when we’re back after the break we’re going to talk about what’s on your Ballot I’m fori Muhammed live from LA and this is the culture the culture is a two-way conversation you and me we talk about the stories politics The Good The Bad and The downright ugly so join our community every day at 300 p.m. Eastern and let your voice be heard hey we’re
All in this together so let’s talk about it and see what kind of trouble we can get into it’s the culture weekdays at three only on the Blackstar Network welcome back everyone to a balanced life and as you can tell today is the day it’s election day and it’s not too late to get out and vote so we want to give you the information that is needed for you to be able to figure out not only
What the issues are in your state in your county your local area but also how do you get to where you need to be what resources and documents do you need I’m going to ask this question to Pastor JT first because I know in the state of
Texas we’re always some shade of purple first we were red then we were blue now we’re back to being purple again and so knowing what’s on your ballot can literally help you identify and understand the best way to cast your vote Pastor JT let’s talk about that for
A moment what’s happening in the state of Texas wow do we have enough time for that um man uh Texas you know as as the young people are now saying they’re putting an ining on everything so um like the math ain’t mathing I hear that
A lot I’ll just say Texas is out here texting in we are being who we have always been problematic uh we are in we are in a very contentious space in the place of Texas and um I will say that this is probably one of the most
Important elections that we have had in Texas history because we are from the top we are looking at a Governor’s race um and now I’m not going to take this opportunity to speak on any candidate but I will say um that there are in the state of Texas if you think about far
Left and far right um the candidates that are running um actually represent those um uh groups that they are running and they represent them well and so in this particular race if there are things that we have heard across the country um that have been hot topics um I know
Abortion uh in the state of Texas immigration um education we’ve even gotten to this place where we’re having this discussion about our history books and uh what they’re calling CRT critical race Theory um that’s something that we are talking about in this election um these hot button topics that you have
Been seeing on your major news stations it is inflammatory in the state of Texas and the reason why the state of Texas houses the largest number of African-Americans across the country let me say that one more time the state of Texas houses the largest amount of African-Americans across the country so
The reason why this election is so important for us is because what happens in Texas there are 49 other states in the union that’s watching to see what’s going to happen in Texas today so they believe if Texas decides that this is the way that they’re going to go this is
The way that the United States is going to go and just for my personal opinion as for me in my house there are some things that they are attempting to enact and put into legislative law that I cannot sit idly by and allow to happen because it’s going to negatively impact
My children my children’s children and generations to come and that’s the reason why I believe that midterm elections are so important because if you’re listening to me today and maybe you are on the fence about going to go and vote please hear me if you’re in Texas you’re in California you’re in
Georgia you’re in North Carolina I don’t care if you’re in Alaska midterm elections are so important is because these are the elections that control your state your local municipalities your cities your counties these are the elections that get the right representation on school boards for your kids these are the elections that get
The judges in the seats that are going to either be fighting for us or fighting against us these are even the elections that determine if they’re going to spend money to invest in fixing potholes in your community who’s going to be over the water in your city this is what
Governs your town and I believe because we have been so focused on what happens on Pennsylvania Avenue we missed the opportunity for our voice to be heard in the cities that we reside as I will be honest and I have always said Pennsylvania Avenue has nothing to do
With me and Houston Texas because at the end of the day there is a local government that governs everything here and if you are not voting and your voice is not being heard here you now impair the voice that will come from the white house because that voice from the White House is
Buffered the local ordinances the state ordinances that have been put in place and I’ll say this and I’m this I think the pastor coming out of me I think I’ve closed five times in this segment but but I’ll say this if you’re not going to vote your voice tomorrow does not
Count so being on a soapbox tomorrow and next Wednesday at the beauty shop at the barber shop in December in February of 23 if you are not being a part of the political process your voice now becomes chatter instead of challenging the status quo that’s absolutely right so
What Pastor JT just described in very Vivid ways is what’s called Civic engagement or civic participation and that is the individual’s ability to get out to vote to impact local state and National voting and legislation and so we have to all be engaged in that
Process so Dr T what’s on the ballot in North Carolina I mean um coming after the good pastor um he he pretty much summed he really summed it up what’s what’s here at stake here in North Carolina as well and said many of the same points that I was going to make so
Right now the hot buttons in North Carolina are um the NC legislature so we’re not sure who’s going to hold the legislature will it be the Democrats will it be the Republicans right now that’s that’s a big topic of conversation um the next topic is inflation which is something that is
Impacting pretty much every state um here in the US and the third hot button topic is abortion and so right now North Carolina is really up in the air now that roie Wade has been overturned North Carolina is up in the air in terms of
Which side of the fence is going to fall on in terms of abortions being illegal or if they will continue to protect a woman’s right to choose you know and so I I love what Pastor JT just stated because that’s exactly where I was going
To go with it in terms of making this real you know for your every day so a lot of people that I talk to that are hesitant about voting or say Well it don’t matter because they’re going to do what whatever they want to do anyway don’t realize that your choice to not
Vote is a vote for the opposition you know whatever you see as the opposition you’ve basically just voted for them because you did not vote for whatever matters for you you did not let your voice be heard you know and so when we hear these big topics you know inflation
Okay let’s make that real you tired of how much the chicken wings cost when you go to the grocery store well you need to get out and vote you know a question do you as if you are a female or if you have a mother a sister a friend that you
Care about do you want her to be able to choose what happens to her body yes okay well then you need to go ahead and vote you know and so making these these topics real every day that they impact your everyday life this is why you must
Vote this is why you must persevere if the lines are long this is must why this this is why you must go back you know if they say oh you need your social security card or is okay I’ll be right back I’ll go home and grab it and come
Right back you know this is why it’s so important that we vote and particularly in the midterms because these are the officials that will be governing just our day-to-day in our everyday life in our states and in our cities so absolutely absolutely please go vote these are the everyday matters and you
Know as we’re preparing to wrap up this block you both mentioned some things abortion immigration education inflation all of these things impact now both of you are in States where there’s a heavy collegate population and often times and I remember when the presidential election was going on there was this big
Issue about how do students vote do they get absentee ballot can they vote because they’re temporarily in that state do they need to go home to vote in each of your States for just a few moments Pastor JT I’ll start with you what does that look like say for example
For a student that goes to Texas Southern how are they voting while they’re at campus and they don’t live in the state of Texas or they’re out of their County got you it would be um literally at that point you know you could do an absentee
Voting uh because you are a student and um it would take the responsibility um of the parent uh or the student to kind of coordinate to be able to um get that ballot in and to get that ballot mail back in uh if you have not done an official change of address
But if you have done the official change of address um and then in Texas there has been a new law that has been put in place um you have to register to vote 30 days before um the voting cycle begins um so you would have had to register to
Vote with your new address information uh and hopefully would have received um your voters registration card to be able to participate in uh this upcoming election so today being election day this is super intriguing for me because can students no longer in either of your States utilize their student ID because
If I’m 18 and I never got a driver’s license I don’t have two forms of ID so that means I only have my student ID or my high school ID wherever I came from how are we helping students navigate and I’ll do Dr tney because Dr tney you were
In that collegate space and still are in that college space how what’s happened there so uh this is where of course we would have to go visit our good friend Google to see if a student ID because there has been so many changes if a student ID will still suffice as a
Second form of ID in addition to a driver’s license passport social security card so I’m not certain there and I don’t want to give any misinformation but definitely it is definitely something that the conversations happened early in often on college campuses here in North Carolina absolutely because we do have a huge
Population of HBCU and Collegiate universities and colleges here it’s definitely a conversation that absolutely happens here what often happens is that if a student is still considered um a regular student then as Pastor JT said they would have to um vote via absentee ballot but if they are considered an independent student where
They are no longer considered a um dependent of their parents but they are an independent student so therefore they have the their address is set in accordance with the college or with the the city that they live in then they would be able to vote in that um in that
Election for that County they would not have to vote absentee ballot but again I’m not sure if a student ID would uh suffice something that I would always encourage students to do would be to just get an ID you know just get an ID it doesn’t have to be a driver’s license
If they do not you know feel comfortable taking the driver’s test to go to the DMV and just get an a picture ID with their picture on it so that that can be utilized so that again there there’s nothing that’ll be stopping them when they get ready to go
To the polls absolutely state ID is probably a very good form of um identification to have as a student especially if you’re living away from home or on campus thank you both for the information that you share when we come back after the break I want to talk
About how do you get to the poll it is the day of election you are now deciding after watching this show that you’re going to get out to the poll so let’s talk about that for a moment when we’re back after the Break welcome back everyone to a balanced life and as you can tell there is a lot at stake a lot at stake here as it relates to voting in this midterm election I want to talk to our guest today about how do people get to the polls because often times it’s not easy
And I know that work can be an issue for some people when you’re trying to figure out do I take off a half a day is it my legal right to be able to go out and vote just how do we navigate getting to the poll and sometimes guys it is these
Hurdles just mentally physically emotionally financially it’s these kinds of hurdles that keep people from getting to the polls on the day of election let’s unpack that for just a moment yeah well I know um here in the city of Houston U there has been a concerted effort um to ensure that there
Are no barriers uh as it relates to being able to get to the polls I know uh metro metro bus our public transit uh system here um they are offering free rides um to the polls I know that there are a lot of churches that are utilizing
Their church vans and church buses to get people in the good church statement to and fro uh but I believe going back to what Dr tiany said um we Google everything um even to the standpoint if you don’t even want to type you can talk to your phone um we have um your
Preference Siri or Alexa and I know that they will be able to give you some information um but I know that you know even if you just ask question you know how can I get to the polls there are so many different ways but I believe that
That goes to um the voter or the person that is engaged enough uh to want to find every uh uh resource that’s available to be able to make sure that their voice is heard and that their vote is cast yeah and here in North Carolina um
I’m not sure if they still do this but I know that the bus system was providing free rides to people to be able to go to the polls to vote in addition to the number of community organizations um like you said churches that are also providing rides for people to go to the
Post be picked up and taken to the poll and you know brought back home so there are a number of resources that are offered by either your city or by the organizations and Community um activist groups that are in your city that will be able to help you get to the polls and
Yes Google if you’re not sure of one or one hasn’t because a lot of them don’t necessarily have the funds to run commercials or ads you know so we won’t necessarily know about them but if you just Google plenty will come up and all you have to do is just click the link
Find the one that works you know best for you and you know offer the the thing that I really want the thing I really want people to understand is that there are more resources out there you know than maybe we even are aware of you know
It’s easy to say oh well they’re not doing that or oh I can’t do that or I can’t you know it’s easy to say that but there are way way way way way more assistance and help you know that’s that’s provided than what we even know
Of or even that we capitalize on so take take take the time Google find these resources ask a friend you know ask a friend if they can take you you know to the polling to your polling location you know but definitely just seek these resources out because they are
Definitely out there so we think about how we get to the polls it’s very interesting because I remember you know people would ride their bicycles to the pole and in 20120 Uber began a program where they would give people opportunity to get free rides to the poll and in
2022 Uber Lyft and several others are doing the same but not only that they’re offering 50% off for people who want to use their scooters they’re the ride share and the bikes so can you just imagine people you know getting on one of those electric scooters and riding
Around town because I’ve seen them in so many colors you know I wish that people if you’re going to take a scooter you know from Uber lift or one of the other organizations that has them send us pictures tag us you know we want to see
You going to the polls I think that one of the things that we often forget is how to be creative and Innovative you know and being able to get to the polls so not only getting to the polls is an issue or a concern but there has been
Some contention around polling places so Pastor JT talk to us about souls to the polls and Church’s ability on today or any other Sunday you know in advance because we’re talking about future voting as well as election day how what role do churches play in having polling places for people to
Vote um churches play a significant role um as they always have and especially in our community um I don’t think that there’s any elected official that has been elected that has not attended uh a black Sunday morning service um it because historically that was our epicenter everything started at the
Church um even if you think about the Civil Rights Movement you know that’s why you had so many pastors or clergy that um um in the 50s and 60s that was leading the charge because those were our community leaders because we had not yet ascended to the place where we had
African Americans that could actually sit in political seats um to be presidents of of companies CEOs and things of that nature um so all we had uh was was Pastor Jenkins at at Mount Mariah Missionary Baptist Church and so they would Galvanize um their members and then their members now attach themselves uh
With the Millennials of that time and I always say every generation had a group of Millennials uh the college students uh so you think about Snick you think about um the LCC you know all of those groups that are our fraternities our sororities uh that we have seen um
Seemingly like the black and white pictures of them marching uh for civil rights but that was the Hub that’s how it happened so now fast forward in 2022 as much as people may want to distance themselves from the church or have so many negative things to maybe say about
Uh uh religious organizations the church is still that place that you’re going to find uh the majority of African Americans at in a group setting so churches play a huge huge piece there are several churches in the city of Houston that are actually polling locations so it makes it easy for them
And their parishioners to vote as well as all of our churches are in communities so makes it easy for um those uh Community residents to be able to come to the church now as you mentioned about souls to the polls um that’s a huge initiative that kind of happens collectively uh with several
Churches and Ministries and I know we’re doing um or we did a huge huge initiative here in the city of Houston uh for this particular um voting cycle where we brought churches and denominations together and we actually Caravan it made me feel like we were uh
Marching uh on Selma I I I I feel like the power of my ancestors come on me you know I I was out overcome it felt good uh but we all came together and it was after church and so you had that Spirit um that I believe carried us to the
Poles uh so we made sure that our voices Was Heard and so I I echoed that again there is nothing like the power of the black church uh the black church is still alive and well and that’s why you still see so many um uh politicians Community leaders um that will not miss
An opportunity to come to the African-American church because they are of the belief the parishioner is is that if my pastor allows this person to St in their pull pit at their point then that must means that my pastor believes in them and this is an endorsement and that
Means that if my pastor believes in this person I need to believe in them too and so I believe every Pastor uh should uh uh be a significant role in the political process um to ensure that those that you have watched over have care over are using their voice and
Following the leadership of yours absolutely I want to wrap up this segment because I want to spend quite a bit of time on our next topic when we come back after the break headspace.com talked a little bit about election anxiety and stress oh yes it’s a thing
When we come back after the break let’s talk about how we deal with pre present and post anxiety at the polls we’ll be back after the Break welcome back everyone to a balanced life and as you can tell there’s a lot at stake when it comes to being able to vote getting to the polls to vote casting your votes so that your voice can be heard but there is some Stress and Anxiety that comes along with
Getting to the polls being at the polls and going to the polls I want to talk to Dr Tierney for a moment about that because when we talk about stress and the way that it affects us mentally emot socially it can really wreak havoc on us
Dr tney talk about stress with us in a in a way that people can understand and identify when they’re having a little bit of rise up and anxiety because it presents itself in different forms for many people absolutely absolutely so stress is definitely one of those things that unfortunately in our society today
We’ve kind of normalized it so for a lot of us we don’t even know necessarily when we’re feeling the stress or that we’re under stress you know we may do things to kind of cope with the stress not even knowing that that’s what we’re doing you know so sometimes if we’re
Feeling stressed or anxious we may find ourselves fidgeting you know quite a bit or we might find ourselves talking quite a bit you know or talking more fast or rapidly you know about whatever it is that’s causing a stress or maybe something else that maybe doesn’t even
You know attached to the thing but we’re just finding ourselves just needing to kind of talk talk talk talk talk talk talk you know we may also find ourselves becoming very tired you know weary sleepy um wanting to just take a nap you know we may find it um present itself in
Our bodies so if you start to feel like tension through your neck and through your shoulders you know tension in your lower back or in your legs you may be clenching your muscles because of that stress and that anxiety so it’s really important that we start to make sure
That we’re taking the cues from our bodies cues from our actions to let us know when we are experiencing any type of stress or anxiousness you know or like we’re bracing for impact and when we notice that the first thing that we have to do is first identify okay why am
I so stressed about this situation what about this situation is causing me stress you know and so since it’s election day and we’re talking about um the stress and overwhelming and anxiousness that comes with going to the polls that’s where you have to stop and say okay am I stressed because there’s
Going to be a crowd and I don’t do well in crowds you know am I stressed because I don’t know I’m supposed to be Democrat but I don’t know any of the Democrats so how do I know what to do when I get there or are they going to ask me for
Something that or or maybe I I was just you know previous felon so can I still vote and is are they are is there going to be police there or you know these are real anxieties real uh fears that people go to the polls with or experience
Before going to the polls that become can become a hurdle you know to stop them from going to the polls so this is where we have to first say all right what is the best way for me to vote if I know that being around large crowds is
Going to cause me stress and anxiousness or I’m starting to feel it well up you know just even thinking about going to the polls this is where you make a plan to say all right I’m going to the poll early or I’m going to early Vote or I’m
Going to vote via absentee ballot if you’re not sure if you are going to be stopped at the PO harassed at the post what you’re going to need at the post this is where you may invite a friend to go to the PO with you this is where you
Google and say okay what do I need to have with me to go to the PO to Ure that I’m not stopped you know at the polls you know do whatever it is that you need to do for you to mitigate that stress and that anxiousness because what we
Don’t want to happen is for us to go into shutdown too much stress too much anxiousness too much overwhelm will cause us to shut down you know and what we don’t want to do is hit that wall of shut down and say well I’m not I’m just
Not going to on I’m just I’m just not going to deal with it or I’m just going to avoid it because then what you’ll be doing is setting up a dynamic that looks something like voting equals stress so I’m not doing it you know and that’s definitely what we don’t want you you
Know to do there are a number of ways that we can address the stress deal with the stress properly so that you can still let your voice be heard but the number one thing is just to realize what when you’re starting having stress why are you having that stress and then
Let’s find some ways to to mitigate that stress stress by taking one of these different type of actions that will still get you to the poe in a less stressed way as best as can can be possible yeah trying to figure out how to mitigate stress can oftentimes be
Really difficult you know the American Psychological Association literally talks about that and how it pulls people close to election time just to see how they’re feeling so Pastor JT when you get these calls from these unknown numbers when in these small towns that you didn’t even know existed when people
Come knocking at your door to talk to you about whether or not you’re getting to the polls and of course we know that after election day on today they’re going to be all these post calls and all of these post surveys of people coming around did you vote how did it go etc
Etc do we ever release ourselves from this type of anxiety of always being queried when it comes to elections I don’t think we do um and I think that that may be to our detriment because it’s always a vote or it’s always an election and there’s
Always an issue you know it’s kind of almost like I believe that we needed to have a moment to unplug during quarantine uh because you know if you were like me and most Americans man during quarantine we didn’t have nothing to do but you know watch TV and
Depending on what you watched it could have created some things in you that you are uh living in now that you didn’t even know was happening um so I believe that our anxiety levels increased I believe that our fear increased um you know even thinking about the the racial
Tension that was going on in America um that was at the Forefront um during that 2020 2021 time um so now we look at it in 2022 um it has increased and so I think to your point to your question I don’t necessarily think that we do would I
Suggest that we do yes because I think too much of anything is bad I think that we need to have some way to decompress some way to release what we have received um and maybe having an opportunity to replace it with something else uh I believe that that is going to
Be something that will help you um not to have a stress overload because the fear is is that you would wear your stressors out so much that you become um lethargic no at the next voting uh cycle or uh you remove yourself and and and engag that once was there uh is removed
Completely all right so it’s election night what are y’all doing for election Night Watch coverage because I know we sit in front of that TV and we’re watching all these different channels and we’re seeing the numbers go up and go down what are you doing on Election night I’m
Going to sleep you’re not going to stay up and watch the poll numbers you don’t want to see it no and here’s why um so exactly to what Pastor JT said if we we can find ourselves continuing to staying locked in this anxiousness cycle so my mitigating of in the stress the
Anxiousness it starts even before so I don’t you know how we see on the TV all of the the Mud Sling in the slander ads and the commercials and the text messages and I put horse binders on and I don’t pay attention to any of that
It’s not that I’m not informed but I’m choosing where to put my focus okay then I intentionally okay who are the candidates what are the issues let me look at their platforms let me be informed but in a way where I can digest the information and it’s not just coming
At me out of a fire hydrant and I’m just trying to keep up but I get the information in the way that that I can handle in a way that I can wrap my mind around it to make an informed decision then I go to the polls I do my civic
Duty I get my sticker I encourage others to do the same I’ll take people to the polls I’ll do what needs to be done and then that’s where I’ve done my duty I will wake up on the next morning and find out who won I don’t sit and labor
Over it watch the numbers watch the ticker because that’s going to make that anxious bug in me just want to go and it’s going to make me tired for the next day which I will then be impacted by the things that I need to continue be to do
In my own life in my home in my business so I go to sleep so that I can make sure that I keep my anxious anxiety stress levels under control and that’s just my way of navigating you know and and disconnecting from it because like we said there’s going to be another
Election cycle there’s going to be a presidential election there’s going to be another mid that’s and if I constantly stay plugged into it that way or feeling like oh my person didn’t win I need no I did my civic duty at the end of the day God is the one that’s in
Control of it so let me let him do his job and I’m going to sleep period Pastor JT well um being in Harris County which is one of the largest counties in America um talked to a poll worker yesterday and said said that they probably won’t have
The official numbers until 6 hours after the polls close um we have 150 different issues that’s on the ballot so I have been invited to several different watch parties and you know different candidates are having different things so considering the numbers may not come in until 6 hours
Later I’m going to take a page from the level up coach throwing away all these invitations I’m going to sleep I’ll see them tomorrow morning and figure out who W absolutely thank you for your words of inspiration and encouragement it’s election day and whatever it is you’re
Going to do now is the time you still got time several hours in fact in this day to still get out and vote when we’re back after the break I’ll bring my reflection black star network is here oh no punches I’m real revolutionary right now thank
You for being the voice of Black America all momentum we have now we have to keep this going the video looks phenomenal see this difference between black star Network and black own media and something like CNN you can’t be black on media and be scared it’s time to be
Smart bring your eyeballs home you Dig welcome back everyone to a balanced life as you can tell your vote is your voice get out today cast your vote let the world know what you think how you feel about the issues but in the midst of doing that also take time to step back and breathe do your due diligence
Even if you’re just now deciding to go to the polls go to 411 vote411.org find out what the issues are if you haven’t done that already get your ride shared together call Uber call lift get a scooter do whatever it is that you need
To do to get out to vote today yes today get out and vote today it it’s a matter of importance no matter how you feel about elections whether you’re on the left the right whether you’re democrat or republican or independent or if you’re green it doesn’t matter but where
You cast your vote does be a part of the civic duty and the participation process thank you all for watching and happy election day bye now
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