Six years later, in 1991, I immigrated to the United States because of a brutal civil war that had roots in Doe’s ruthless intolerance of opposition. I made a home in Nashville while watching the on-off war continue another 14 years before Liberia elected Africa’s first female president in 2005.

After 21 years of sitting idle through U.S. presidential elections that brought Bill Clinton and George W. Bush to power twice and Barack Obama’s first term, I finally became a U.S. citizen shortly before the last general election. And without a vote, I watched as Nashville re-elected Phil Bredesen as mayor, followed by elections of Bill Purcell and current Mayor Karl Dean.

The people we choose, now and in local general elections in August, will help determine how we administer justice. In some way, almost every family will be touched by decisions they make regarding public safety, crime and punishment, and how our communities grow.

Early voting results in Davidson and surrounding counties were encouraging, but too many Americans take for granted the opportunity to exercise their right to vote in a democracy.

Voting matters. In some parts of the world, people die because there is no tradition of free and fair elections.