Denying voters a drink of water would criminalize decency

Jesus says, “When I was thirsty, you gave me a drink.” On his way to the Cross Jesus also said, “I am thirsty!”

Voting rights are not where my Holy Week devotional readings should be intersecting my Facebook newsfeed, but here we are. Florida House Bill 7041 would deny us from fulfilling our duty of care to our neighbors. This house bill would criminalize giving a water bottle to a thirsty neighbor in line to fulfill their civic duty to vote.

I do not want to debate the merits of a law intended to bolster election security. Still, I hope to shine a light on any law that criminalizes our duty of care to our neighbors. It seems that the Florida Legislature is criminalizing basic human decency in aiding our neighbors. A harsh comparison reverberates in my mind: Not even Rome outlawed those who wept for Jesus, the person who helped Jesus carry the cross, nor to those who offered him something to drink.

In too many places, I have watched our Legislature outlaw basic human decency. Denying water to a thirsty neighbor is one breach of our duty of care to our neighbor too many.

I remember nearly four years ago, our assigned Sunday readings captured the Israelites in the desert crying out to Moses for deliverance from thirst. That same afternoon, I stood with countless community leaders crying out for Puerto Rico in the dark and in thirst in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Here, not even an ocean or a language barrier could muffle a cry of thirst. Later, images of water bottles abandoned in fields toppled the administration of the sitting governor of Puerto Rico.

An even earlier memory transports me to candidate Donald Trump’s visit to UCF. I mobilized with other chaplains. In the buffer zone between student protesters and citizens waiting in line to attend the rally, we delivered water to protesters and attendees alike. Our original plan was to keep the students peaceful and provide them pastoral support, but our plans changed under the heat of the noonday sun. In this instance, human thirst knew no political ideology.

In the last few weeks, we have hosted multiple vaccine clinics at church properties throughout Central Florida. Our mission was to bring equitable access to vaccines in the face of disparities that saw our minority neighbors vaccinated at much lower rates than our white neighbors. In the heat of the day, all our neighbors stood in line sweaty and thirsty. We passed out water bottles because, in this instance, human thirst didn’t recognize the disparities revealed by a pandemic.

In November, I worked many an election line offering bottles of water and snacks to our neighbors in line to vote. I had no idea who their preferred candidate was. I had no idea what ballot initiatives they were going to support. I had no intention to sway voters. Many of us saw long lines and our neighbors in need of some comfort and encouragement. We mobilized to support our neighbors and bring them water to help them deal with the Florida sun.

Jesus said, “When I was thirsty, you gave me a drink.” We are at a crossroads as a society. We are confusing issues of access and equity with threats to election security. Nothing else shines a light more on the harm we are inflicting on the soul of the state of Florida than the criminalization of offering a drink to a thirsty neighbor.

Our legislators need to focus on restoring community and humanity to our elections.

They have a duty of care over governance. As a society, we have a duty of care over our shared humanity. The pursuit of happiness is the liberty to find joy in not only casting a vote in safety and anonymity but also offering a neighbor something to drink when the sweat on their brow under the Florida sun tells us, “I am thirsty. Can you please give me something to drink?”