Full text of Remarks of Elaisa Vahnie on Voting Right, Freedom, and Democracy

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Greetings: – As we are approaching the United States Presidential election, slated to be on November 3rd, I would like to take this opportunity to directly speak to all my fellow Burmese-Americans with respect to our participation in the American democracy by voting, as we have become part of a growing New American community in the United States.

As newcomers, we are always grateful for the American people, our neighbors, and our friends, for not only welcoming us, but also allowing us to start our new lives here in the land of opportunity and freedom. At this moment we also would like to thank the respective leadership of our cities, our states, and this nation—for serving as a safe heaven and for creating a policy environment and the legal mechanisms in which everyone is treated the same and equally, with respect.

And at the same time, we never had a single moment where we doubted the importance of integration and our own long-term sustained development as we joined our new community here. With a clear understanding of our own fundamental responsibilities based on democratic principles, and with a strong conviction of the need to proactively act and design our future where we are becoming self-sufficient and contributing citizens of the society, we together have been able to systematically and innovatively develop and deliver a comprehensive nature of services to our shared community, putting every effort forth—working collaboratively with all our partners and stakeholders—to ensure that all members of our community and families are not relying upon public assistance for a long period of time, but rather becoming as quickly as possible economically self-sufficient which allows us to give back. That is why during the past 10 years, we have been working very hard with you, with all our friends, jointly creating job opportunities and providing technical assistance to small business start-ups from scratch to an operational level — all of which are directly or indirectly interconnected with our abilities to self-sustain and contribute to a broader community and the economic growth of our respective cities, states, and the United States of America as a whole.

And now, you and I agree with the notion that being able to earn and able to pay taxes is one’s responsibility as a citizen. That is an honorable thing, indeed. However, we believe each of you can, and we actually think it is a good idea, for you to become a US citizen; even better than that is to become a great citizen! So, Congratulations to you all—thousands of you —those who have chosen and have just become US citizens in the past five years, as we know that this will be the first time in your life that you will have had the opportunity to cast your vote in the presidential election. We are proud of you for your accomplishments! And, as a matter of fact, we are excited for you. And the good news is that you are now able to exercise your rights and freedom more fully and meaningfully. That is simply to register to VOTE and to VOTE in the said election on Nov 3rd!

As you all know, one of the greatest American values of the American democracy is Civic participation. And we have been empowered as new Americans with security in our rights and liberties so that we can freely and actively participate in civic and voting matters. That is, we have been given the right to vote — the right from the founding fathers, a right many had to fight for generations in this country in order to obtain—and that right has been given to you, and that right is essential to a well-functioning democracy and, in turn, we have those responsibilities to help keep a well-functioning democracy by exercising that freedom dutifully and responsibly. Remember we have been given our freedom and opportunities in this land in the first place.

Do not allow anything or anyone to discourage you to vote; know that not only is voting your right, but you have the right that your vote is respected, honored, and followed by a peaceful transition of the power based on your expressed voice — those rights are your rights, enshrined in the Constitution of the United States, protected by the relevant Amendments. Make sure you use that right and let your voice be heard this election.

So, in conclusion, regardless of your ethnicity, your linguistic background, or your country of origin—as citizens of the United States, you are American, you have been given the most cherished right to vote. Voting is your right, voting is your Freedom, and voting is our democracy.

I hope you will VOTE when the time comes. Thank you and God bless you.

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