Playing the 'we the people' game

May 6—On Wednesday morning, seniors at Lebanon's Friendship Christian School were called out of class.

They filed into the performing arts center on campus, and once they took their seats, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, Sen. Mark Pody, and State Rep. Clark Boyd were there to congratulate the soon-to-be graduates on earning the Anne Dallas Dudley voter registration award.

To receive the Anne Dallas Dudley voter registration award, a school must have 85% of its senior class registered to vote. To receive the gold level award, 100% of the senior class needs to register. In 2023, FCS was one of 14 schools in the state of Tennessee to achieve that goal and receive a gold level award.

It was one of only four schools to achieve that goal two years in a row.

"I think kids these days really have a penchant and a desire to be involved," FCS teacher Chris Link said. "They hear things from so many different directions. They're really open to suggestions, and if we can suggest one thing, that's to participate. When we teach the (government class) we try to say, 'We don't care from which direction you come or what you think ... just think.' We all win when everybody votes."

Boyd shared that when he first ran for office, he visited neighborhoods to talk to potential voters. The person driving him was surprised that he didn't knock on every door.

"People love to talk politics," Boyd said. "They go home. They watch the news, and they complain about their government. But the reason that we don't stop at their house and knock on their doors is because they're not registered to vote."

When Pody spoke to the senior class about their accomplishment, he began with an excited shout of, "Yeah ... what a day." As Pody addressed the students, his fist-pumping encouragement for them to get out and vote was akin to a coach giving a pep talk before a big game.

"We're standing on a basketball court, right," Pody asked the seniors. "In order to win, somebody's got to make a ball to go through that hoop, right? I want to tell you what happens when you play basketball. Not everybody makes the team. If you're chosen for the team, you get to go out on the court and score. Sometimes, somebody will make the team, but they don't get to get on the court. I want to tell you the game that you are playing right now is called, we the people. That means, according to the Constitution, the game that you all are involved in (is deciding) the direction of the state and this country. By registering, you all made the team to play we the people, because there could be a lot of people in the stands, but they don't get to choose the direction of the state and this nation. You all made the team, but until you actually vote, you're sitting on the sidelines."

Hargett reminded the students that the game doesn't end when they register to vote.

"Right now, as a registered voter, you are still a spectator," Hargett said. "To get into the game, you have to go and vote."

Hargett encouraged the soon-to-be graduate that they needed to be active participants in the voting process.

"If we sit idly by and don't exercise our right to vote, then, frankly, we won't get what we deserve from our government," Hargett said. "If we want a government that looks like and acts like how we want it to, then you've got to go and vote and also encourage family members to vote as well. Please be an active participant in the process."