{"id":162425,"date":"2020-09-08T11:09:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-08T18:09:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=162425"},"modified":"2020-09-29T11:34:25","modified_gmt":"2020-09-29T18:34:25","slug":"rachel-lum-why-i-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/our-people\/rachel-lum-why-i-vote","title":{"rendered":"Rachel Lum: Why I Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"
As part of our Gear Up to Vote<\/a> effort, we asked our employees, members and partner organizations to share what motivates them to vote. This Why I Vote perspective reflects the opinion of Rachel Lum, REI store manager in Folsom, California.<\/em><\/div>\n

I vote because I believe in the power of the individual to change the world. In the same way I carry a bag to pick up trash on trails, I vote to make my impact. No one will know whether I voted, just as no one will know there was once a can, or a granola bar wrapper entangled in the branches of a manzanita. It is just as easy for me to leave the world as I find it, but I believe in a better future for our country and our global society. I choose to take action in all the ways I can.<\/p>\n

Voting ensures the issues which impact my daily life are priorities for our government. As the daughter of a biracial couple, my parents\u2019 marriage was illegal in parts of our country before June of 1967. My existence is predicated on the votes of Americans who believed in a future with racial equity and justice. I feel a profound sense of personal responsibility to our future society to vote and continue to promote that vision of America, for we are not there yet.<\/p>\n

One of the myriad of stepping stones to that America is safe, equitable access to public lands for all people. I once ran a summer camp nestled on a private lake in 300 acres of beautifully forested land. One day as the busses unloaded, a 5th grader ran up to me and asked, \u201cWhat is that?!\u201d with eyes wide. \u201cThe tree?\u201d I responded, pointing to a large white pine just off the parking lot. He responded as seriously as he asked the question, \u201cThat\u2019s not a tree, trees grow out of sidewalks.\u201d By the time I was in 5th grade, I had seen the Grand Canyon, Old Faithful in Yellowstone, Half Dome in Yosemite and other natural wonders around the country. I carry this moment with me every day as a reminder of my privilege within the outdoor community. And I vote for this young American, who had only seen trees surrounded in concrete, because it isn\u2019t just about protecting public lands, but protecting them for all.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As part of our Gear Up to Vote effort, we asked our employees, members and partner organizations to share what motivates them to vote. This Why I Vote perspective reflects the opinion of Rachel Lum, REI store manager in Folsom, California. I vote because I believe in the power of the individual to change the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5350,"featured_media":162427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1463],"tags":[1749,1486,2033],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-162425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-our-people","tag-opinion","tag-staff-stories","tag-why-i-vote"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/our-people\/rachel-lum-why-i-vote","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Rachel Lum: Why I Vote","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/our-people\/rachel-lum-why-i-vote","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/our-people\/rachel-lum-why-i-vote"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/09\/Rachel-Lum.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/09\/Rachel-Lum.jpg?fit=750%2C741"},"articleSection":"Our People","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Chrissy Szostak"}],"creator":["Chrissy Szostak"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["opinion","staff stories","why i vote"],"dateCreated":"2020-09-08T18:09:03Z","datePublished":"2020-09-08T18:09:03Z","dateModified":"2020-09-29T18:34:25Z"},"rendered":"