Photography as a Spiritual Practice on Election Day

Guest Writer: Alan Schlesinger

“Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ 26 He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” Luke 10:25-29.

I was photographing the Biden supporters and the Trump supporters on opposite sides of the street at a polling station in Houston today. There was a lot of shouting and chanting. Then this gentleman wearing the Biden shirt came across the street and approached the woman who was a Trump supporter. I expected a heated exchange, but he just said, “I am leaving now. See you later,” and they embraced. I asked if I could take their photograph, and they said “sure.”

After he left, I told the woman that I was curious what their story was. Were they related or just friends? She said, “We just met here today and started talking; so now we’re friends.”

She thought for a minute and then added, "Isn't that how it should be?”

For the first time in months, I had some hope for our country's future.

Alan Schlesinger